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Over the years, producers of big films, starring A-list actors, have shied away from releasing their films during the Ramzan month because devout Muslims are known to refrain from indulging in all entertainment activities during this month of fasting which precedes Eid. If Aarakshan was released during Ramzan this year, it was because Independence Day fell on the first Monday after release of the film, making the first weekend of the film of four days.
So, the case of Aarakshan was different. It may not be a bad idea for some producer to now plan the release of his film right in the month of Ramzan next year. For, a lot of the trade people believe that times have changed and youngsters from the Muslim community don’t mind watching films during the Ramzan month. There’s also the belief that it is more of the masses than the classes among the Muslim population, who abstain from entertainment during the holy month. Since around 60% of the total box-office revenues often come from multiplexes, which are frequented by classes, than from single screen cinemas, which the masses patronise, it may be a good idea to release a big budget film during the Ramzan month next year. For, one never knows. That film might reap the benefits of lack of big releases during that month while not having to pay much of a price for daring to defy tradition. Of course, most of the big producers would still fight shy of getting their films in the dull (from the box-office point of view) period because they would not want to risk losing any section of the audience even if that would mean only the elderly people among the devout Muslim populace.
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