Save the date

As films struggle to stick to release dates, the industry has gone in for a complete reshuffle

W hy is it that Kollywood is unable to stick to its release dates that are announced with great fanfare? Suriya’s Si-3 release date has been pushed three times and is now scheduled to release on February 9. A dozen other films have also postponed their release dates.

A leading Kollywood producer attributed this non-committance to financial issues or “external factors beyond our control.” Sources within the Tamil film industry say that they have been facing a major crisis for the past three months due to factors like demonetisation, the demise of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Cyclone Vardah, and most recently, the jallikattu agitation. This has led to shows getting cancelled and box-office collections plummeting to an all-time low.

Earlier, the Tamil cinema industry’s frequent reasons for not being able stick to release dates included films going over their budget, delays in shoot and post-production, and above all, last-minute financial issues. Once a big film’s release date is pushed, the schedules of others takes a beating. Look what happened in Bollywood when Shah Rukh Khan’s

Raees clashed with Hrithik Roshan’s

Kaabil .

Today, only one film dominates screens on a festival or a holiday, as producers fix their minds on a wide release. Hollywood studios plan their release date as soon as their script and stars are locked. But even there, things go awry. Take the case of the third part of

The Ring franchise — its release was postponed three times in the US before settling upon a February 3 release. In India, it will première only on February 10, a week after Resident Evil: The Final Chapter .

The recent reshuffling has been favourable to some. When Si-3 ’s release was postponed, producer C.V. Kumar moved mountains and managed to get screen space for his small-budget, Adhe Kangal (it was initially slotted for a February release). It was a smart move as it became the lone Republic Day Tamil release and due to good word-of-mouth, has become a hit.

When

Si-3 announced a February 9 release though, it upset

Bogan , which had reserved that date some time back. The Jayam Ravi-Arvind Swamy action flick, rumoured to be inspired from John Woo’s

Face/Off , has advanced its release by a week to February 2. It is seen as a deft move by the producers as two action-packed cop films cannot release on the same day. On the sidelines, Raghava Lawrence’s cop film

Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva, which is currently facing various legal issues, is likely to release on February 16. If that fails, his back-up will be the big-budget, P. Vasu-directed

Shivalinga .

 

Other films in next month’s release race include Jai’s Enakku Vaaitha Adimaigal (February 2), debutant Hrishikesh’s (music director Anirudh’s cousin) Rum (February 10), Vijay Antony’s first political thriller Yaman (February 24), and a likely clash between Selvaraghavan’s Nenjam Marappathillai and Arun Vijay’s Kuttram 23 . Producers are doing their best to avoid a push to March, as it would be the exam season for students.

The summer season in Kollywood starts on March 31 with K.V. Anand’s action-thriller Kavan , starring Vijay Sethupathi and T. Rajendar. Another eagerly-awaited film, which has announced its release date in advance (April 7) is Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai, starring Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari. Three films are eyeing the Tamil New Year date of April 14 — Dhanush’s Power Paandi , Vishal’s Mysskin-directed Thupparivaalan and Simbu’s Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan . All of them want to release before S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus, Baahubali: The Conclusion, scheduled for April 28. In May, one can also expect Dhanush’s Gautham Menon-directed Ennai Nokki Paayum Thotta.

The trade buzz is that Ajith’s next, referred to by fans as Thala 57, will release on June 23 for Eid (Ramzan). The other films which have officially announced release dates are Gautham Menon’s Dhruva Natchathiram for the Independence Day weekend in August, Sivakarthikeyan’s untitled film on August 25 for the Vinayaka Chaturthi weekend and the biggest of them, Rajinikanth’s 2.0 for Deepavali.