Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; March 14, 2020)

In response to the coronavirus threat and as a precautionary measure, the Delhi government on Thursday evening decided to shut down cinema halls till March 31. The announcement has impacted the release of four Bollywood films – Angrezi Medium (which released yesterday), Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, Sir and Sooryavanshi.

While all shows in Delhi have been cancelled, the cinemas in Noida and Gurgaon will continue to run, since both Uttar Pradesh and Haryana haven’t yet issued any orders to shut theatres. However, exhibitors and distributors say that they can’t predict whether moviegoers will head to Noida and Gurgaon to watch recently released films.

SOORYAVANSHI, SIR POSTPONE RELEASE
A couple of hours after the announcement, the makers of Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi announced that the film, which was to release on March 24, has been postponed. The statement read, “Due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, we, the makers, have decided to postpone the release of Sooryavanshi, keeping in mind the health and safety of the audience. Sooryavanshi will be back when the time is right.”

“Due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, we, the makers, have decided to postpone the release of Sooryavanshi, keeping in mind the health and safety of the audience. Sooryavanshi will be back when the time is right,” the film’s makers said in a statement.

Tillotama Shome-starrer Sir, which was to be released on March 20, has also been postponed. Shiladitya Bora, who is spearheading the India release of the film, tweeted, “Bearing in mind public health concerns and the advisory from the health ministry, we have decided to postpone the release of Sir. We look forward to sharing the film with our home audience in India and will announce an updated release date ASAP. Meanwhile, we urge everyone to stay safe and take all necessary health precautions.”


HOLLYWOOD RELEASES PUSHED

With the international outbreak of COVID-19, several Hollywood films have postponed their releases and film premieres,the latest being Fast And Furious: F9,which will now be released in 2021. The films are:
- Mulan
- The Lovebirds
- The New Mutants
- Antlers
- No Time To Die
- Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
- A Quiet Place Part II
- Fast And Furious: F9
- Blue Story


‘IF OTHER STATES FOLLOW SUIT, WE WILL OF COURSE CLOSE CINEMAS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE’

On Thursday, a statement released by Angrezi Medium’s makers confirmed that the film will be released “as scheduled across India except for Kerala, Delhi and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.”

Exhibitors say that the shutdown of theatres in Delhi will affect Angrezi Medium’s box office collection as Delhi was expected to contribute a major chunk to it. Rajendra Singh Jyala from INOX says, “Around 15% of Angrezi Medium’s business, which would have come from Delhi, will be affected. However, safety comes first, and if other states will follow suit, then obviously we will be closing cinemas until further notice.”

Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor, pointed out that since the announcement came on Thursday, there was no time to reconsider the film’s release. “If the decision would have come on Monday, it would not have affected Angrezi Medium as much as it will now,” he says.

Sanjay Suri, who’s involved with the India release of the French film Les Miserables, which also hit theatres yesterday, says, “We shall wait for the situation to improve and see if a phase-wise release (in Delhi) is possible when the shutdown is lifted. Safety is most important.”

The makers of Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, which is supposed to release on March 20, did not respond to our queries, but as per sources, they are sticking to the scheduled release for now.


FILMS ALREADY IN THEATRES WILL SUFFER AS WELL

The spread of coronavirus and the resulting shutdown in Delhi will also affect the business of films that were released in the previous weeks. Yogesh Raizada of Wave Cinemas says, “Had the occupancy in cinema halls not dipped last week because of Coronavirus scare, Baaghi 3 would have done even better.”

Ahmed Khan, director of Baaghi 3, says, “The safety of the audience is extremely important. We would never want their lives to be at risk. It’s unfortunate that the theatres in Delhi will be shut for a while now and that will affect the overall collections of my film, but some things are beyond our control. We must follow what the government bodies decide.”

Anubhav Sinha, whose directorial Thappad is also still in cinemas, says, “Thappad has completed 80% of its run at the box office. Delhi contributes about 15% to the collections. That will be impacted but we have to live with it because logon ki jaan se badhkar kuch nahi hota. But we should not panic because that can just make the situation more difficult to handle. Along with pulling down shutters of theatres in Delhi, governments across states and UTs need to educate people about this disease.”

Inputs from Rachana Dubey