Prashanth Neel Presents ‘418’: Multilingual Horror Thriller Locks October 23 Release

HYDERABAD — Mythri Movie Makers has finally locked a release date for 418: the multilingual horror thriller presented by Prashanth Neel will open worldwide on October 23, 2026, in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. The announcement caps a stop-start journey that saw the film postponed twice — and it arrives alongside trailers in all four languages, with the Telugu trailer dropping September 11 and the Hindi, Tamil and Kannada trailers landing Monday, October 5.

The “presented by” credit is doing real work here. Neel — the director of KGF: Chapter 1 (2018), KGF: Chapter 2 (2022) and Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023), currently directing Dragon — is not directing 418. The film is written and directed by Kirtan Nadagouda, making his feature directorial debut after working as an assistant and co-director to Neel. In the Indian market, Neel’s name on the poster is a signal of trust — and a powerful one: it tells exhibitors and audiences alike that this newcomer has been vetted by the man behind two of the country’s biggest action franchises.

The road to October 23 was bumpy. 418 was first slated for July 31, but ran into censor certification objections over the level of its horror content and was referred to the Revising Committee of the CBFC. The makers said nothing publicly at the time; the film eventually emerged with an A certificate and a new date of September 18. Then, on September 15, Mythri postponed it again — this time, the makers said, to mount a wider multilingual release and take the film to audiences across the country. TeluguOne reported the call followed encouraging responses at special screenings, particularly from Hindi exhibitors, who saw a horror film that could travel.

The multilingual push began in earnest this week. The Telugu trailer arrived first, on September 11, and the Hindi, Tamil and Kannada trailers all dropped on Monday, October 5 — the Hindi version unveiled over the weekend per the film’s publicity — kicking off a final two-and-a-half-week sprint to release. Mythri Movie Makers wrote on X: “#418Trailer — Hindi | Kannada | Tamil out now!” The studio posted its campaign tagline alongside the announcement: “Languages change, but FEAR HAS NO BOUNDARIES.”

The trailer introduces 18-year-old Vivek, played by Surya Raj Veerabathini, a young man who cannot tell reality from hallucination. The mystery centers on a building — identified in coverage as the VIMS building — sealed for 15 years and reopened against the opposition of local residents. All attention turns to Room No. 418, where the building’s darkest secret appears to be hidden. The trailer opens on a watchman insisting that not even birds have entered the haunted house; the arrival of Devika is where the dread deepens. The first half plays as psychological thriller, the second as full horror — a structure the trailer holds together through atmosphere and suspense rather than comedy or commercial detours, which the makers have pointedly avoided.

The cast is led by Chaithra Achar as Devika — the trailer’s standout, whose transformation into the character supplies some of its most chilling moments — alongside Surya Raj, Charan Lakkaraju, Preethi Pagadala and Shashank Patil. For Achar, already one of Kannada cinema’s most closely watched young actors, the role looks like a deliberate swing at something darker than her previous work.

The trailers are keeping Devika’s full role close to the vest — her connection to the film’s supernatural elements is teased rather than explained, and her late-trailer appearance is clearly designed as the footage’s money shot. Around the leads, Charan Lakkaraju, Preethi Pagadala and Shashank Patil fill out the world of the reopened building, with Ramesh Indira also featuring.

For Mythri Movie Makers, this is new territory: 418 is the banner’s first horror film. It is produced by Naveen Yerneni and Ravi Shankar, with Anil Yerneni as co-producer. Behind the camera, cinematographer Dinesh Divakar, music director Venky GG, production designer Ullas Hydoor and editor Akul Avinash handle the craft departments that matter most in horror — image, sound and dread. Mythri’s own announcement put the ambition in a tagline about fear having no boundaries.

The timing is deliberate. An October 23 release puts 418 squarely in the Dussehra festive corridor, when the Indian box office traditionally surges on family audiences with time off and money to spend. A horror film with an A certificate is a counterintuitive festive play — but Neel’s brand, built on KGF and Salaar, has repeatedly proven that his audience shows up for tone as much as genre. Mythri is betting that the presenter credit converts curiosity into footfall across four languages at once.

The October 23 date plants 418 in the Dussehra festive corridor — prime real estate in the Indian release calendar, when family audiences turn out in force. For a horror film carrying an A certificate, the multilingual bet is the whole game: four industries, one weekend, and Neel’s brand doing the heavy lifting. The festive-season box office is already heating up — see our coverage of the Diwali IMAX battle and this weekend’s box office finals — and 418 just made it more interesting. Whether fear really has no boundaries, audiences find out in sixteen days.