Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 12, 2014)

While most producers steered clear from the general election results day ( May 16) as their film’s release date, Himesh Reshammiya has decided to release his film, The Xpose, on this very day. The film was initially slated to release on May 23, but its release has been pulled ahead by a week.

The music composer-turned-actor is willing to take the risk of having his film hit the big screen on a day when the country will be glued to news channels to know the outcome — whether the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi attains the magic number. News channels are expecting maximum viewership not only on that day, but over the weekend as well.

Rakesh Upadhyay, creative producer of The Xpose, says, “We are aware that May 16 is counting day, but by afternoon, the results will be known and people will step out after that. Also, the election staff that has been tied up for the last several months will be looking forward to some relief after all these months. I am sure our film will provide them the much-needed entertainment quotient.” Another factor that dictated the change was the Indian Premiere League (IPL) schedule.

Upadhyay adds, “We had initially announced May 23 as we were unaware of the detailed schedule of IPL’s cricket matches at that time. Later, we realised that from May 23 to 25, there are qualifying matches for the semi-finals and there are two matches on a day, so we decided to pull forward the release.” Apart from Himesh, the film stars Honey Singh, Irrfan and newcomers, Zoya Afroz and Sonali Raut.