BOLLYWOOD PLAYS MUSICAL CHAIRS
The film fraternity sheds light on why ‘save the date’ has lately come to mean ‘be ready to change the date’ when one talks about movie release schedules
Announce a film, book a release date, and then start shooting — this has been the norm in Bollywood for years. However, for fans, it often means crossing out one date and circling a new one. That’s because, if the release date of a big film changes, that starts a game of musical chairs for all the others.
Sample this: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati (possibly renamed Padmavat) is reportedly releasing on January 25, although no official announcement has been made yet. If so, it’ll clash with the Akshay Kumarstarrer Pad Man. Now, that would be a tight squeeze for Neeraj Pandey’s Army film, Aiyaary, which was to be out on the Republic Day weekend. That film is changing its release date to February 9, and, thus, clashing with Anushka Sharma’s Pari, and Luv Ranjan’s Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. We hear that to avoid this fresh clash with Aiyaary, the makers of Pari might push their release to March.
Another big film that has had its release date postponed twice is Shankar’s 2.0, starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar. The film, which was to release in 2017, got a new date (January 26), but has now moved to April 13.
‘MAKE IT ORGANISED’
Film-maker Anubhav Sinha says, “I understand that everyone wants to make the best of the opportunities available to them, but the industry needs to behave in a set manner. Right now, nobody gives a damn about each other, and that’s ridiculous. Clashes are bound to happen, but it needs to get a little more organised and ethical.”
The makers of Pad Man are not apprehensive, though. Prernaa Arora, one of the producers, says, “January 25 is a big release date, as it’s a long weekend, too. Padmavat and our film have different marketing strategies, so I don’t see why anyone should be concerned. Clashes usually affect smaller films if a big film comes out on the same day.”
Ranjan says, “It is unavoidable and unfortunate. Everyone would want to have a solo release, but that can’t happen. If two films are of the same size and they can coexist, there’s no harm.”
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
In more recent examples, the biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt was to release on March 30, but after the makers of Baaghi 2 announced the same release date, film-maker Rajkumar Hirani pushed the biopic to June 29. And after Aanand L Rai announced December 21 as the release date for Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Zero, it’s speculated that the makers of Kedarnath will push back their release date.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels that when one big film gets rescheduled, it has a ripple effect on the remaining films that don’t want a clash. “With many films up for release, weekends and holidays are limited, so one has to be prepared for a clash, and screen footfalls are bound to be divided. The only way out is to have solid content, as the box office can be unpredictable,” he says.
I understand that everyone wants to make the best of the opportunities available to them, but the industry needs to behave in a set manner. Right now, nobody gives a damn about each other. ANUBHAV SINHA, FILMMAKER