It has been a long wait for Rana Daggubati to see Haathi Mere Saathi on the big screen. The multilingual, originally slated for an April 2020 release, had to be postponed to January 2021 due to the pandemic. In January, the makers announced that the drama was further pushed to March. Fortunately, Kaadan and Aranya — the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film respectively — had a big-screen release in south India on March 26. However, the Hindi version could not keep its date with the audience as the number of Coronavirus cases had risen in Maharashtra, Punjab and other states, which serve as crucial markets for Hindi releases.

Now, director Prabhu Solomon and the producers are pursuing a direct-to-television premiere. The Hindi version will premiere on Zee Cinema on September 18 and stream on Eros Now. “Through Haathi Mere Saathi, I wanted to put across a thought that could ignite conversations around the cause of protecting elephants and nature,” says the director.

The film focuses on the issue of human encroachment in elephant corridors. Daggubati is glad that the story will reach viewers across the country. “It is a journey of a man who is best friends with elephants and their protector. It is an important story that needs to be told.”