With Omicron surging, Bollywood’s Rs 1,000 cr pipeline is in limbo

The lights in the multiplexes have dimmed and one does not really know for how long. For the Hindi film industry, which did see a bit of a revival in the last quarter of 2021, this is a cruel twist of fate. On the one hand, audiences are waiting to be in the theatres but the virus does have a mind of its own.  

When Sooryavanshi released last November, it was a money spinner and garnered a cool Rs 180 crore at the box office. The mood of gloom was now all optimism and the mediocre performance of 83 was overshadowed by the sparkling run of both Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Hindi dubbed version of Pushpa. The story, or rather, the script was well set for what looked like an interesting calendar ahead. 

The festive season for Bollywood starts off with Dussehra all the way to the second week of January – and is the most important period from a commercial point of view. Producers, especially those with a big-budget, want to get the most from this window. Starting end December 2021, we saw 83 hit the theatres but everything after that has been postponed.  

First it was Jersey, a Shahid Kapoor-starrer, to be followed by some seriously big projects, like RRR, a film directed by S S Rajamouli of Baahubali fame and which has a budget of Rs 450 crore, and Radhe Shyam, a film starring Prabhas with an outlay of Rs 350 crore. The stakes are huge since these two films are multi-lingual – to be released in Hindi and at least one of the south Indian languages. “The moment it is more than one language, a release during this phase is extremely difficult,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. If Mumbai and Delhi are badly affected by the virus, a release in the south cannot make good the revenue loss. “The producers will have to contend with how to tackle the overseas markets too. Without any doubt, the situation is most challenging and not a good one to be in.” 

Officially, the release of Jersey, RRR and Radhe Shyam have been deferred. Top that up with Prithviraj, a Yashraj Films production starring Akshay Kumar scheduled for a 21 January release, with a budget of over Rs 200 crore and suddenly one is staring at money to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore in limbo. Aman Gill, co-producer of Jersey, says the only option is to “wait and watch.” To him, the collections between October and December for some of the films was most encouraging. “The audience was waiting to be in the theatre but the situation is suddenly worrisome.” 

The news from down south is no better as the Ajith Kumar-starrer Valimai, which was a Pongal release, according to media reports, will be pushed. With a budget of Rs 150 crore, it remains to be seen what the producer can now do. Kamal Gianchandani, in his capacity of President, Multiplex Association of India, thinks there is no panic and that the body is in touch with all the producers. “The revenue generated in the last quarter across languages has given us comfort and confidence. Producers are keen on releasing their films in theatres but the uncertainty is what is difficult to deal with,” he explains.  

Quite clearly, this script is nowhere close to being perfect. Rarely has the film industry faced a predicament as tough as this. By the looks of it, it could be a bit of a wait.   

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Also Read: Omicron threat: After RRR and Jersey, Prabhas-starrer RadheShyam postponed