ALA VAIKUNTHAPURRAMULOO’S RELEASE CANCELLED; BADHAAI DO’S RELEASE ANNOUNCED
 
In our last week’s Bollywood Talk, we had informed that Allu Arjun’s 2020 film, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, will be released in Hindi in cinemas on January 26. However, the release was cancelled after Manish Shah of Goldmines Telefilms, who holds the rights of the film, had to change his mind. Reportedly, the producers of Shehzada, the Hindi remake of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, felt that their film would be affected if Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo would release in cinemas and do well at the box office. Hence, Allu Aravind, the producer of both Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and Shehzada, flew down from Hyderabad to meet Manish Shah.
 
Manish Shah later told a website that Kartik Aaryan, the lead actor in Shehzada, threatened to walk out of the remake if Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’s Hindi version would release in cinemas. Shehzada’s makers then put out a statement in the media that Kartik has been a thorough professional and that he has made no such threat. Nevertheless, Allu Arjun’s Hindi fans were disappointed. His recent film, Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01, was fresh in everyone’s minds and hence, they wanted to see more of him. Thankfully, for them, they’ll still get a chance to see Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo in Hindi. The film will now premiere on television on February 6.
 
However, the exhibitors were shattered when Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’s release was cancelled in Hindi. There has been no Hindi film release since December 24 and they were looking forward to the 2020 flick as it would have got them considerable footfalls. But now with its release being stalled, they don’t know how long they can continue to run cinemas. Most of them, especially the ones in the North, are playing Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01. But with each passing week, its footfalls are naturally declining.
 
Thankfully, there’s been a ray of hope. Badhaai Do, starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, has been announced for a February 11 release. It was supposed to be released on February 4. But unlike other films, it has not been indefinitely pushed and got postponed only by a week. It has given an assurance that more films would be announced for a theatrical release in February. This will mainly happen after the Delhi government announces that it is relaxing curbs from next month. The capital city was the first one to shut theatres, in December-end. If it opens, then the release dates of several films will be announced one after the other. Hence, after a disastrous January, one can expect Bollywood films to finally take off and generate some sort of business in February.
 
Meanwhile, the theatres in Maharashtra have a reason to smile. The Marathi film, Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha, was released on January 14 and was a decent success. Meanwhile, the first Marathi zombie film, Zombivli, was released on January 26 and its opening has been fantastic. The film was released at a great time and got a wide screen count, which would have not been possible had it been released in normal times alongside Hindi movies. The theatres in Maharashtra are now sorted for a few weeks as Zombivli will continue to draw audiences thanks to the hype and great word of mouth.

FINALLY A RAY OF HOPE IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES

The box office has once again got affected after all the January releases got pushed due to the third wave of Coronavirus. The Delhi government shut down cinemas from December 28. The filmmakers feared that other crucial markets would also follow suit and hence, they postponed their releases. Thankfully, the third wave has turned out to be milder than the previous two waves. Cities like Mumbai and Delhi are clearly past their peaks. In the smaller cities and villages, the new Omicron variant reached at a later stage. Hence, these places are yet to reach their peak. Nevertheless, it is expected to happen before January ends and in February, the cases are bound to fall drastically on an all-India level.

Now that it’s clear that the third wave is not as devastating, everyone is expecting certain restrictions like the night curfew to go away from February 1 or at least from February 15. Until this imposition is there, big or even mid-sized films will shy away from releasing their films. Assuming from February 1, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh etc allows shows at night and Delhi reopens cinemas, then some movies might release in theaters from February 25. If restrictions are lifted from February 15, then even the month of February would have no Bollywood release.

Till last week, the exhibitors were wondering how they’ll continue to function with no new film playing. Many contemplated shutting down for a month. However, the developments in the last 7-8 days have changed the minds of many. To begin with, the Marathi film, Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha, directed by Mahesh V Manjrekar, turned out to be a crowd-puller. The film got into a controversy over its adult content and it helped the film to generate curiosity. The collections slowed down on the weekdays as the word of mouth was mixed. However, the film has not crashed, indicating that it’ll draw audiences in the second weekend too.

Up North, the Punjabi film Shooter is doing very well, not just in Punjab, but even in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Telugu films are continuing to release, due to lack of restrictions. Tomorrow, a Malayalam film, Hridyam, will be released and the advance booking seems superb. Kerala has not gone for a night curfew and hence, several Malayalam films are up for release.

And on Monday, a sudden announcement was made that Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, will release in Hindi in theatres on January 26. The much-loved film has never been aired on TV or digital in Hindi. Moreover, the super-success of Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01, also starring Allu Arjun, is fresh in everyone’s minds. Hence, the decision was taken to release Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo in cinemas. This has spread cheer among exhibitors in Gujarat, Rajasthan etc who were waiting for a big Hindi film to release. As for Maharashtra exhibitors, it’s a double celebration as a Marathi zombie film, Zombivli, would release alongside Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo on January 26.

Confirmed reports have also emerged that if Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is a hit, more dubbed films would release in cinemas in February. At this rate, the exhibitors will be in a comfortable position, especially if audiences throng in huge numbers to watch these South entertainers.

Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha is a Marathi film by Mahesh V Manjrekar, and is a story of a poor, orphan boy in Mumbai who aspires to be a gangster, just like his dead father. The 112 minute long film is replete with some unconventional and also shocking moments, and it keeps the interest going. On the flipside, several developments in the second half are difficult to digest. Just adding titillating scenes and cuss words are not enough; it needs to be done convincingly for a better impact. The unpredictable climax thankfully saves the day. The exceptional performances are also the film’s USP. Prem Dharmadhikari (Digya) plays the difficult part with ease. Varad Nagwekar (Ilyas) lends able support. Chhaya Kadam (Digya’s grandmother) rocks the show. Kashmera Shah and Rohit Haldikar (Shirya) leave a huge mark in a small role. Umesh Jagtap (Corporator Jagtap) is apt for the part. Ganesh Yadav (Bhaktya) is great but the twist in his track is sudden. Ashwini Kulkarni (Digya’s Kaki) is fine but her character’s actions make no sense. Shashank Shende (Babi) and Savita Malpekar (Babi’s wife) are memorable. All in all, Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha is an average fare.

My rating - ** ½ out of 5!

HOLLYWOOD AND REGIONAL FILMS TO RELEASE THIS WEEK

The sudden rise in the Coronavirus cases, driven by the Omicron variant, has once again led state governments to either shut down cinema halls or impose restrictions. As a result, all the films scheduled for a release in January – RRR, Radhe Shyam, Prithviraj, Attack and The Kashmir Files – have been indefinitely delayed. On the positive side, though the number of cases are increasing, a very small number of people are being hospitalized. Out of these, a handful of people are using ICU or oxygen beds. Meanwhile, the cases in Mumbai have started falling gradually, giving hope that the rest of the country would follow suit and that the third wave would not be as deadly.

But the restrictions are expected to remain till January-end at least. Hence, this month won’t see the release of any significant big film. Last week saw the release of no Hindi or English film. This week, however, a few films will be hitting theatres, but these movies belong to Hollywood or regional cinema. The Hollywood movie, The King’s Man, was scheduled to arrive in cinemas on December 28, 2021. It was pushed to January 14 as the studio feared that it would not get adequate screens as a lot of films were running in cinemas then. Many in the trade insisted that The King’s Man should have been released last week, on January 7, as there was no guarantee on whether cinemas would remain open in Mumbai and other major cities on January 14. As luck would have it, except in Delhi, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh, theatres are open almost everywhere, with impositions. Hence, The King’s Man would release without much hindrances tomorrow. In fact, its screen count now will be bigger as there’s no other film up for release.

Speaking of Marathi, two films will be trying their luck at the box office. One is Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha, directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. It has caught attention due to its extreme bold content. The film has been in the news since the National Commission for Women protested after receiving a complaint from the Bharatiya Stree Shakti that the trailer contains obscene content depicting women and minor boys in objectionable positions. The makers have now made the trailer video ‘private’ on YouTube. Nevertheless, this controversy has given the film a boost and it might get footfalls. The other Marathi release is Coffee. It looks like a light-hearted film but the buzz is low.

Down South, few Tamil films have been released today to take advantage of the Pongal holiday. There’s a lockdown in Tamil Nadu on Sunday. Hence, big films have decided to avoid releasing. But smaller films have released hoping that they can get ample footfalls on the festival weekend, and that it’ll compensate for the zero business on Sunday. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, there are no major restrictions and a few films would hit theatres, including Bangarraju, starring Nagaruna. The Punjabi cinema is still being very cautious as their crucial markets like Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Himachal Pradesh are shut.

This is going to be the situation till the end of the month and these small mid-sized Hollywood and regional films would dominate the cinemas. Sadly, theatres in the non-South regions won’t be able to survive on the basis of these films and they’ll need a major Bollywood film to release. When that would happen is a question that can't be answered at this point, unfortunately.