Mumbai: The ‘August Rush’ isn’t even here. With Eid not far away, several films like ‘Kaanchi’, ‘Satyagraha’ and ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara’ have made way for ‘Chennai Express’. This is only because the makers do not want films clashing at the ticket windows and eat up the already crunched businesses.
But come this Friday and one will see as many as 11 films, a mix of Bollywood, English and regional films hitting the theatres. The biggest crowd puller for now is the Tusshar Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia, Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak starrer ‘Bajatey Raho’. With the promos and promotions being done on a lavish scale, the film looks like it is off to a promising start. Competing with ‘Bajatey Raho’ is the Manish Tiwary directed, Prateik Babbar starrer ‘Issaq’, an adaptation of ‘Romeo And Juliet’.
And amidst these supposedly average ‘surprise’ fares is Tanuj Virwani (actress Rati Agnihotri’s son) making his debut with ‘Love U Soniyo’ and Poonam Pandey promising a raunchy endeavour with ‘Nasha’. While this is Bollywood, there is ‘The Wolverine’ from Hollywood, ‘Shrimanth Damodar Panth’, ‘Time OK Please’ in Marathi, ‘Best Of Luck’ in Punjabi and 3 Tamil films also hitting the marquee this week.
With 11 releases scheduled in one week, there isn’t enough choice for theatre owners to have their preferences clear and choosy about the movies. While many multiplexes have already warned filmmakers and producers to shift dates to ensure better collections, sadly many have not adhered to the warnings. Now they are left with no options but to suffer.
Girish Wankhede from Cinemax has said, “We are releasing all the eleven films but have still not decided how many screens and shows can be given to each.”
Shahshant Shah, director of ‘Bajatey Raho’ says he is left with no option but to release the film on 26 July as the subsequent Fridays are reserved for BIG films. He is upbeat about the film and being different in content and sees as a possible attraction from audiences.
Considering the fact that even last week’s releases ‘D-Day’ and ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ have been allotted lesser screens and limited shows, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Friday releases fighting over screens. Thanks to ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ having a super run at the box-office and a ‘Tax-Free’ status (not applied in Mumbai yet) the film continues to get maximum screens till date.
While ‘Lootera’ and ‘Raanjhana’ have been pulled down from screens, there are still places where the film is managing to have a show to its name. In this state of affairs, it is but obvious that the regional films, especially the 3 Tamil release and one occasional Punjabi release will largely lose out.
As per the Maharashtra government’s mandate, the two Marathi films will get a release, but with odd timings, whether audiences be interested to visit the multiplex is a matter of huge debate.
Fun Cinemas have already confirmed that the Marathi and Punjabi films aren’t releasing in their arena. Which means it’s now 9 to battle for. It’s time for fearful Friday. All we say is ‘Best Of Luck’ to Tanuj Virwani and Poonam Pandey for ‘Love U Soniyo’ and ‘Nasha’ respectively.
