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.

Zombivli is the first Marathi zombie film or zom-com and is a complete crazy ride. The film starts off on a bit of a dry note. Once the characters and the setting are introduced, the makers then waste no time and very soon, the film zaps you into the world of the zombies in Dombivli. The comedy is very well inserted and the nail-biting moments are also nicely executed. Aditya Sarpotdar’s direction is first-rate and the production design and look of the film are very rich and appealing. On the flipside, the film seems a bit long in the second half. The humour also takes a backseat at places as the narrative gets a bit serious. The fight scenes in the end have a comic feel but the humour quotient could have been more. But these are minor shortcomings and the makers achieve what they set out to make. Amey Wagh (who had a crucial role in Asur) is terrific and raises maximum laughs. Vaidehi Parshurami (who was seen in Simmba as Aakruti Dave) plays her part with confidence. Lalit Prabhakar delivers a memorable performance and the comical trait of his character is novel. Janaki Pathak, Trupti Khamkar, Vijay Nikam and others do well. All in all, Zombivli is a great effort and do watch it in cinemas if it has released in your city.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

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.