NZ theatres reopen with Golmaal Again; Shibasish Sarkar expects staggered return for cinemas in India
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 25, 2020)

On Wednesday, one woke up to the news that the 2017 supernatural action comedy Golmaal Again!!! is back in the theatres. Featuring Ajay Devgn, Parineeti Chopra, Tabu, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade and Kunal Kemmu, it’s the first Hindi film to be screened in New Zealand theatres post the Coronavirus outbreak that led to a lockdown in many countries across the globe. An elated Shibasish Sarkar, CEO, Content, Gaming & New Media, Reliance Entertainment, which distributed the film, informs that Fiji is next in line. Another Rohit Shetty entertainer, Ranveer Singh’s cop comedy Simmba, should play in cinemas there this weekend. And while they will get a share of the revenue, he is quick to point out that now is not the time to think about money, but to stand by theatres that need good content to draw people back in.

“Over the next 40 days, from the last week of June to July 31, several global markets will open up, unless a country or a particular zone shows an accelerated growth of cases. West Indies is already up and running and by the end of the month, Australia is expected to unlock, too, along with the UK. In the USA, different cinema chains will start operating between June-end and July-first week. All of them are eyeing Christopher Nolan’s spy film Tenet (its release was pushed from July 17 to July 31 and is expected to be the litmus test for a film’s financial viability and theatrical demand). The action drama Mulan also unveils a week earlier. But since there will be a drought of new releases for some time now, with shoots having come to a standstill, there will also be a demand for popular hits that were released earlier,” reasons Shibasish.

Prod him on the situation in India and he admits he is unsure, given that the two main cities, Mumbai and Delhi, which account for 60 per cent of the domestic business, are still in the clutches of the debilitating infection. “Even Chennai is struggling to contain the virus, so, I think there will be a staggered, state-by-state opening up of theatres across the country. For example, Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, might take a step forward given the state’s encouraging figures. This would be a boost for the regional Kannada industry, but it won’t help pan-India films,” he points out.

While around 10 films have locked deals for direct-to-digital releases, Shibasish has been saying all along that they will wait to bring their two big-ticket releases, Sooryavanshi and '83, to the theatres. Does he see a Diwali release for them? “We foresee the last quarter, around November-December for our films” he says enigmatically.

With more big markets expected to open by August, they will be looking at the global scene carefully. “I hope by the time the domestic markets open, the overseas markets, which account for a large percentage of business for Bollywood, will be up and running,” says Shibasish, whose concern is two-fold: That all Standard Operating Procedures are in place to make the theatrical experience safe and see if the audience feels secure enough to return in large numbers across the globe. “I am optimistic because both in India and across the world, after three months, people are bored cooped up at home. They have always enjoyed the big theatre experience and that’s never going to go away,” he signs off.