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EXCLUSIVE: Experts on festival releases in 2021; Raj Bansal feels Bell Bottom should have opened on August 13
Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi also informs that the kind of box office business that will happen on festivals in 2021 will depend on the policies that are deployed by the respective state governments.
Festival releases contribute largely to the overall box office collection of the year, and many stars are known for unveiling their movies around a particular festival. For instance, most Salman Khan films are presented around Eid, while Aamir Khan prefers a Christmas release. In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, distributor-multiplex owner-film analyst Raj Bansal says that festival releases have been the most important thing for the business in the last 50 years.
“It plays a major role in getting the box office collections, and I personally feel that depending on the quality of the movie and it’s success, they are about 15 percent if not more,” states Bansal. The makers of Bell Bottom recently announced that the film will be theatrically released on August 19. However, Bansal feels that they should have unveiled the Akshay Kumar starrer during the Independence Day weekend.
They should have ideally come on August 13, but they preferred to go a week ahead as the holiday of August 15 has clashed with a Sunday
Raj Bansal
“They should have ideally come on August 13, but they preferred to go a week ahead as the holiday of August 15 has clashed with a Sunday. So they don't benefit from it, and prefer to encash on the Rakhi festival. The latter doesn’t have a national holiday, but it does help a great deal to all the films releasing in that week,” shares Bansal.
As far as the releases of 2020 are concerned, Bansal says the year was very tricky. “Last year, we were stressed with Covid, businesses and finance. So we didn’t really have entertainment in mind at all, that’s what I feel. So it clearly doesn’t matter whether it was a holiday or a non holiday (release last year), or whether I saw the film on OTT or at the theatre. We were all very tensed and just wanted to get some entertainment. That was also one reason I personally feel why OTT became very successful in India and across the world. But when the theatres open up again, I think OTT will take a back seat,” says Bansal.
Considering that things are gradually opening up, is he hoping for a better second half for the festival releases in India? “That again depends, as people are talking about the third wave of Corona. If that happens, then god bless the industry, and if it doesn’t happen then we will see a record business in Diwali 2021,” informs Bansal.
Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says that while the second half of the year in India is laced with a lot of festivals, he is also hoping that cinemas are allowed to function with consistency now. “I think the future of how the movies pan out, and what kind of business happens on festivals will depend on the policies that are deployed by the respective state governments all over the country,” says Akshaye.
He mentions that while SS Rajamouli’s RRR is slated for a Dussehra release, there are multiple films announced for Diwali 2021 as well. “For Christmas this year, Allu Arjun’s Pushpa and Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha have also been announced. On Sankrant next year, there is a barrage of releases coming at least in Telugu cinema. There is Prabhas’ Radhe Shyam which is in Telugu and Hindi both, there is a Mahesh Babu film, there is a Rana and Pawan Kalyan film, and there is one with Venkatesh too,” says Akshaye.
Quite a few films are there. Now it's about figuring out whether the exhibition sector is allowed to stay open consistently without any more hiccups or not
Akshaye Rathi
He further adds, “So quite a few films are there. Now it's about figuring out whether the exhibition sector is allowed to stay open consistently without any more hiccups or not. And if consistency and stability comes into play, then I am sure it will be a terrific time for the movies, moviegoers and for the exhibition sector. However, the only hope is favourable government policy, and consistency in operations - in terms of cinemas being permitted to stay open.”
Moreover, Akshaye feels that Bell Bottom is a film that would be able to attract people to the theatres. “Maharashtra as a state contributes to a good 25 odd percent of the business of the entire country, and the hope is that Maharsthra is allowed to start operating cinemas by the time it releases. That is because, only when every entity in the value chain, like the producers prosper and make more movies, which helps the exhibitors, distributors and the actors. So all of us in the value chain hope that the chain in general keeps doing well, and that makers of Bell Bottom make money, so that they can reinvest back in business,” Akshaye concludes.
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