With the new year, come new plans. As we turned the calendar to 2021, the makers of Sooryavanshi and '83 have begun charting the way forward for the two Bollywood biggies, which have been waiting in the wings for a theatrical outing for the past 10 months. The makers are planning to release one of the event movies over the Holi weekend.

Shibasish Sarkar, chief executive officer, Reliance Entertainment group, which has bankrolled the films, says, "The situation in the country is improving as is the economy, so the mood is largely positive. A section of people headed to theatres to watch Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984. That was an encouraging sign. So, now, we are looking at bringing one of the films in the third week of March, during Holi. We have yet to decide on the film though." He is hopeful that with the vaccine roll-out around the corner, the situation will further improve. "These are event films that would have made Rs 300 crore under normal circumstances, so we can't play around with them. We need to be certain of the situation."

Come March, it will be exactly a year to the Akshay Kumar-starrer that was originally planned as a Gudi Padwa 2020 offering. "We were supposed to release Sooryavanshi on March 24, and '83 in April. If we follow the same sequence, Sooryavanshi should come first. That said, we are discussing the nitty-gritty."

Sarkar reveals that Vijay's Tamil release, Master, will serve as a precursor to help them gauge the market. Following the star's meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in December, the Tamil Nadu government permitted 100 per cent occupancy in theatres — a move that has been widely criticised by the frontline workers as well as public. On Wednesday, the Centre directed Tamil Nadu government to revoke its order, stating that it diluted the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. "We are waiting for the January 13 release. There are four to five big releases in Tamil and Telugu cinema. There is a huge amount of confidence in the makers and the audience," reasons Sarkar.

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.

Shibasish Sarkar confident that hunger for big films will increase after six months; says it’s best to wait
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 14, 2020)

On March 12, producers Rohit Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Shibasish Sarkar pulled back the release of their upcoming cop-drama, Sooryavanshi, slated for March 24, owing to the Coronavirus outbreak. Shibasish had another film opening on April 10, the Kabir Khan-directed sports drama ’83. Even that was indefinitely postponed. With uncertainty looming large over two big-budget films, the CEO of Reliance Entertainment admits it’s a tough situation, but reasons that it’s a global crisis, so one must take such setbacks in stride and move ahead.

“It’s unfortunate and depressing that the films couldn’t arrive on schedule, but we are thankful that we managed to hold back Sooryavanshi a week before its release. Otherwise, it’d have been a debacle with the lockdown enforced suddenly,” he points out.

For now, the producer is trying to stay calm and informs that both films will release only once things are back to normal. “We are wondering how and what to do if this situation continues for the next three to six months. We have seven-eight days of work left on Sooryavanshi and atleast a month’s work of VFX on ’83. Once things start functioning, the first priority will be to complete both the films. Only after that will we decide on the release,” he explains. Following the closure of cinema halls, Hollywood film Artemis Fowl is now headed directly for a digital release. Is that a possibility they are considering?

“No, all of us, including the actors and directors, are clear that we want to hold both films till normalcy returns and release them theatrically since they are big screen experiences,” Shibasish avers. Having seen major portions of both Sooryavanshi and ’83, he is confident they’ll work no matter when they arrive.

The largest cinema chain in the US, AMC Entertainment, has been shut since mid-March and is expected to re-open only in July. The New Zealand and Australian governments have announced the closure of all theatres for six months, starting from March. Will this impact the overseas releases of his films? Shibasish reveals that the makers plan to open in over 80 countries, including traditional markets like the USA, UAE, Australia and New Zealand, which account for 80 per cent of the overseas collections. “That’s why we are in no hurry to release,” he avers, adding that he doesn’t rule out a change in consumption pattern of the audience post the pandemic. “I don’t expect viewers to return to cinema halls immediately after the crisis has passed. There will be some psychological fear and we will have to build up their confidence over a period of time. But, one thing is for sure, the craze for cinema would never die in India. On the contrary, I think the hunger for big films will probably increase after six months. The eagerness of the audience to partake of these products will be high if we can convince them that theatres are safe.”

Prod him on losses incurred due to the delay and Shibasish reasons that they were almost up for release, so there is a lot of money at stake. “But these are big films and when they do release, we will earn enough revenue to recover the additional cost of holding back,” he says confidently, adding that six months have been wiped out from everyone’s lives and this will result in a chain reaction of delays in releases and shooting schedules. “Once normalcy returns, Sooryavanshi and ’83 will be the first two films to arrive,” he assures.

Shibasish Sarkar clears air on Vikas Bahl’s exit from Anand Kumar biopic; says makers would consider putting his name back in the credit roll if he gets a court order clearing his name
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 13, 2019)

It’s official. Vikas Bahl is out of Super 30, the Anand Kumar biopic which features Hrithik Roshan as the math whiz and coach. And while Anurag Kashyap, Vikas’ partner in the now-dissolved Phantom Films, will be overseeing the post-production, Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO of Reliance Entertainment, acknowledged that “Vikas is not associated with the edit and post-production” and that the film will be completed with its in-house credit partners.

However, Shibasish was quick to clarify that Anurag is not replacing Vikas. “There will be no director credit for anyone,” he states, adding, “As a producer, after substantial investment of time, money and the efforts of all our technicians and talent, it is our responsibility to complete the film with the best possible resources available to us. Anurag is a partner, he has edited films of other Phantom partners in the past. He agreed to take this responsibility on Reliance’s request, and with a professional and commercial understanding. Also, it has been agreed that he will not take any credit.”

The move follows sexual harassment allegations against the Queen director. Mirror was the first to report (April 6, 2017), that a woman employee of Phantom had alleged that Vikas had molested her during a trip to Goa in February 2016. Following her complaint to other stakeholders—Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane—the matter was escalated to Reliance Entertainment and a committee was reportedly set up as per Vishakha guidelines to investigate the matter. Vikas, at the time, had denied anything like this happened, saying “there is no complaint to HR and no Vishakha committee” but had admitted that while the lady was not an employee, she was a friend and they'd worked together. “I want to ask her if I have crossed the line, whether I have done anything to hurt her and if she feels that way I would like to apologise,” he asserted. Despite this, allegations against him refused to die down. Even his Queen leading lady, Kangana Ranaut, revealed that during the shoot, he'd bragged of having casual sex with a new partner every day, and that he had made her uncomfortable by holding her too tight and burying his face in her neck. Subsequently, Anurag and Vikramaditya, in separate two-page statements on Twitter, had apologised to the survivor.

Last October, Anurag, Madhu, Vikramaditya and Vikas had dissolved their seven-year partnership and gone their separate ways, but Madhu, in his statement, had said that they would all continue to work exclusively with Reliance. On October 8, in the wake of the #MeToo wave, Hrithik tweeted, “It is impossible for me to work with any person if he/she is guilty of such grave misconduct. I am away and have access to only sporadic information. I have requested the producers of Super 30 to take stock of the apparent facts and take a harsh stand if need be. This is not to be hushed or brushed under the carpet. All proven offenders must be punished, and all exploited people must be empowered and given strength to speak up.”

Shibasish, however, insisted that Anurag had not be brought in on Hrithik’s request as is being reported. “There was no request from Hrithik on who needs to be associated to complete the film,” he stated. He also refuted reports that Vikas had got a severance pay to relinquish his credit. “The question of Vikas being paid an additional fee is absolutely incorrect,” he said, adding, “The film has shaped up well and we are all excited to tell this story on screen on July 26.”

When asked about Vikas’ reaction to the development, Shibasish informed that he'd been kept in the loop at every step. “Vikas has been informed of every single decision. So, there is absolutely no ambiguity of our decision regarding him.”

What would be their plan of action should he decide to move court for being dropped as the director as he has completed the shooting? “Vikas is currently pursuing legal action to clear the allegations levelled against him. If he can get an order clearing his name before the film’s theatrical release, either from the court or a competent body of course, as a company, we will reconsider whether his name can be given as the director. But only if he gets an order from a competent authority or institution,” he said.