While operating at 50% capacity and with all mandatory safety protocols in place, cinema halls have seen some new releases and decent BO collections. However, the rising number of Coronavirus cases in the state have led to the Pune civic authorities shutting, cinemas, malls, restaurants and hotels for a seven-day period. Certain restrictions have been in place for a while in other parts of the state as well.

This has led some April film releases to be postponed, due to lower footfall and lesser shows. The Amitabh Bachchan-Emraan Hashmi-starrer Chehre, which was to release on April 9, has been postponed, as has been Bunty Aur Babli 2, featuring Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji and Siddhant Chaturvedi, which was slated for an April 23 release. The Hindi version of Haathi Mere Saathi, featuring Rana Daggubati and Pulkit Samrat was deferred last month, but it’s Tamil and Telugu versions got a theatrical release. There are unconfirmed reports of Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi not meeting its April 30 release, but there has been no official confirmation about the same till the time of going to press.

With filmmakers deciding to play the wait-and-watch game, some Marathi releases from this month have been deferred, too.

Touted to be the first zombie film in Marathi language, Zombivli features Amey Wagh, Vaidehi Parshurami and Lalit Prabhakar. Director Aditya Sarpotdar said, “In a situation where cinemas, including single screens, are not fully functional, I don’t think it’s advisable to release a film now. So, we are postponing the release of our movie indefinitely. When cinemas resume functions at full capacity and when people are mentally prepared to watch a film, we’ll think about the release. But we will have a theatrical release for sure.”

Free Hit Danka was supposed to release along with another Marathi film, Bali, and promotions were on in full swing for the same on social media. However, the makers have decided to postpone the release. Producer Sunil Magare told us, “We had all intentions of releasing the film as scheduled. But things are changing unexpectedly every few days. With the spike in cases, health should be everyone’s priority. Plus, looking at the response we got for the film’s teaser and songs, we feel that maximum people should be able to watch it, which is not possible right now. So, we are postponing the release and will announce a new date soon.”

The Swapnil Joshi-Pooja Sawant-starrer horror film Bali, directed by Vishal Furia, is the first big Marathi film to release after cinemas reopened. And the team is ensuring they stick to their schedule. Producer Kartik Nishandar said, “We had gotten an offer from an OTT platform for Bali during Diwali last year. But ours is a big screen release and we wanted to keep it that way. People need entertainment in their lives and filmmakers need to bring the business back on track. Of course, if occupancy was at 100% or if all cinemas were open, the response would’ve been even better. But even in the current capacity, we are not pulling out the film from theatres.”

Hemant Dhome’s upcoming directorial, Jhimma, shares its release with the Kangana Ranaut starrer Thalaivi. And like the latter, he is in no mood to shift the release any further. “Every other business is operating, so I don’t see why the entertainment industry shouldn’t, of course by taking all necessary precautions,” said Hemant. When asked if the early closing mandate will affect the number of shows, he replied, “Who knows, we might even get more shows because there will be only two films releasing that day. We all need to learn to live with COVID-19. What if for the next two years, the virus isn’t eradicated? Will we stop functioning for that long? We need to take all necessary precautions and keep going, because it’s a matter of livelihood for everyone. If the government announces a complete lockdown, then there will be no option for us but to defer the release. Until then, we are meeting you in cinemas on schedule.”

- Haathi Mere Saathi

- Chehre

- Free Hit Danka

- Zombivli

- Bunty Aur Babli 2