Follow Us
Join Us
As Omicron cases are increasing by the day in Delhi, the government announced the temporary closure of cinema halls, gyms and malls recently. As a result, the makers of Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey have moved its release to another day in 2022. Will the film’s postponement affect the release of RRR and Radhe Shyam? Scroll down to know.
SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus seems to be moving ahead with its release, planned for next week. Prabhas and Pooja Hegde starrer too is releasing in theatres on January 14.
Now during a conversation with ETimes, Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, who operates a string of cinemas in the Hindi heartland, reveals whether the shutting down of cinemas in Delhi will affect the businesses of south films like RRR and Radhe Shyam. He said, “We had a set of releases lined up and things were just beginning to look up. Shutting down cinemas is like tokenism, attacking the low-hanging fruit which by the way is a taxpayer and an employment generator. People who are letting their guard down and not following COVID protocols need to be pulled up. We’ve seen the impact of shutting businesses like cinemas in the past. If more chief ministers decide to do what Delhi Government has done, it will impact the roster entirely. For films like RRR and Radhe Shyam, a chunk of their business will come from the South. Delhi alone doesn’t impact them much, because Haryana and other neighbouring states have not put those restrictions into action.”
Trending
Rathi then said, “Business from Delhi impacts Hindi films and such lockdowns scare producers a lot and they immediately change their plans which has a long-term impact on the business.”
On the other hand, a top-billed distributor in the business Anil Thadani, who has a host of big releases in his kitty for 2022, has shared his opinion on the temporary closure of cinema halls in Delhi. He said, “It is COVID that will matter. It has been the single most uncertain factor in our lives for the last two years, and it continues to be so. At the moment, no one can predict what the release calendar would look like for the whole of 2022. The situation is volatile; it’s a wait-and-watch game for all of us. If the closure in Delhi is temporary and short-spanned, then things may not get impacted but you can never say with these things. I don’t think anyone can say anything concrete at the moment.”
Even the makers of Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey have moved its release to another day in 2022 due to the lock down-like restrictions in Delhi, the move would not affect the business of Prabhas’ Radhe Shyam and SS Rajamouli’s RRR.
