Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
FESTIVE WEEKENDS BOOKED FOR 2019
Big-ticket Bollywood films’ release dates take a huge time leap
It’s natural that everyone would want the best release date for their movie, but booking it two years in advance… is that ludicrous or a good business decision? According to back-to-back announcements this week, all but one big Friday of 2019 appears to be snapped up by Bollywood producers. This follows our findings a few weeks ago that the mostwanted release dates of 2018 were all booked. Now, Republic Day, Holi, and Independence Day weekends in 2019 have been taken by Yash Raj Films, Akshay Kumar, and Karan Johar, respectively. Christmas and Eid are likely to be taken by Salman Khan. Only Diwali 2019 seems to be a free slot. Earlier, producer Ramesh Taurani had said that announcing release dates in advance helped avoid a clash between production houses. Filmmaker Aanand L Rai had also said that such ‘advance booking’ of dates prevented “unnecessary complications or injustice to anyone”. On the need to announce films so many months in advance, especially for festive weekends, filmmaker Anurag Basu says, “Nowadays, movies have become like an event and a festival. Even filmmakers are creating that space for viewers to plan.” Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “With films clashing at the box office, producers feel it’s important to make an announcement and lock the date.” The film fraternity sees a good strategy in this move. Film critic Omar Qureshi says that booking long holiday weekends is a worldwide tradition. “Festive weekends give a boost to movies, as families and children are keen to watch films,” he adds. Asked if it’s possible to sustain the hype for such a long time, Basu says, “Earlier, it was always the case that if a film was made well, it would do well. But now, if a film releases on a good date, it would do well.” He adds that producers and distributors base their opening weekend expectations on certain calculations, and it’s up to the director to deliver the goods. Qureshi points out, “Hype is the bugle player walking in the front of a marriage party, but to make [a film] work, the compatibility of the product and the audiences is vital.” For the films releasing next year, some shoots are on; those announced for 2019 are likely to roll next year.