Since 2008, the IPL juggernaut of cricket, glamour and entertainment has had film producers avoiding big-ticket releases during the season. But as IPL enters its fifth year, that mindset has gone out of the window. With 24 movies and 300 crore riding on them, Bollywood seems to have conquered the fear of releasing films during the IPL season. Tollywood too isn���������t shying away from debuting interesting movies ��������� you can call it the rub-on effect or producers eyeing the Poila Boishakh weekend collections.
From Kaushik Ganguly���������s ���������Laptop��������� to
Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha���������s ���������Teen Yaari Katha���������, from Debaditya Bandopadhyay���������s ���������8.08 er Bonga Local��������� to Bappaditya Bandopadhyay���������s ���������Elar Char Adhyay���������, from Srijit Mukherji���������s ���������Hemlock Society��������� and Raja Chanda���������s ���������Le Halua Le��������� and ���������Janeman��������� to Rajib���������s ���������Bikram Singha: The Lion is Back��������� ��������� a number of Bengali movies will be released between April 4 and May 27 this year. Industry sources say, about 15 crore is riding on them.
Says Sudeshna, whose ���������TYK��������� is releasing in May, ���������We had released ���������Cross Connection��������� on May 1 during IPL 2009. It was also the time for elections. But the film ran had a 10-week run. As of now, we are eyeing a May 4 release though we will have to wait for the official confirmation from Prosenjit Chatterjee.���������
If ���������CC��������� could reap such dividends despite the cricket hype, Sudeshna sees no reason for not being optimistic with ���������TYK���������.
Ask Kaushik whether he is ready to take on IPL with his April 13 release of ���������Laptop��������� and he says, ���������If the film doesn���������t work, I���������ll always have the IPL alibi! But jokes apart, cricket fatigue has set in with so many games being played throughout the year. Where are the people in the stadium? Even on the opening day of IPL 5, I found that there was only 35% occupancy in one of matches.���������
Kaushik���������s films are more actordriven than star hyped; does that make him more confident about his audience? ���������Absolutely. The audience for my kind of cinema will see the score on TV but go to the theatres to watch my film. In my film,
Rahul Bose is an actor and not a star.���������
But then, even big-ticket, starstudded films are not scared of the IPL hype. ���������A film���������s release depends on good dates. The next such good dates are Poila Boishakh and Jamai Shasthi. In the last two years, we have realized that IPL has hardly affected TV and film viewership. The IPL matches don���������t have many takers, with many icons no longer playing. The Team Kolkata craze has also gone down substantially. Last year too, we wanted to release a film during IPL but weren���������t ready,��������� says producer Shrikant Mohta.
Eyeball race? No way Adds Shrikant Mohta, ���������This year, it was a conscious decision to release ���������Le Halua Le��������� starring Mithun and Hiran on April 13. We are releasing Srijit Mukherji���������s ���������Hemlock Society���������, starring Parambrata and Koel on May 25. That���������s the Jamai Shasthi week and we���������ll have only two days of IPL left.���������
Plans are on to release Raja Chanda���������s ���������Janeman��������� on the same day. ���������When we made the movie, we never bothered about IPL. I am trying to complete the shooting of the Koel and Soham-starrer now in Hyderabad. Hopefully, we will be able to release it on May 25,��������� he says.
Producer
Himanshu Dhanuka, who is releasing Prosenjit���������s ���������Bikram Singha: The Lion is Back���������, says the release date has been fixed keeping in mind that IPL will be drawing to a close then. ���������May 18 is the fag end of IPL and during that time, all the IPL matches are scheduled from 8 pm. Night shows generate 30% business and IPL might affect only 10% of that. We have our fingers crossed. Perhaps, Team Kolkata will not go to the finals. As of now, the date is May 18 though we will take a final call on whether to stick to it or release it on May 25 after checking the interest in IPL.���������
Says exhibitor Arijit Dutta, ���������Cricket is no longer a big draw. Even after IPL has kickstarted this year, ���������Bhooter Bhobisyot��������� is running to packed houses. I am hoping that this trend will continue next week as well. If you give content-driven movies based on good performances, people are going to watch them.���������
Debaditya feels that his ���������8.08 er Bonga Local��������� will have takers on its April 27 release irrespective of the fireworks on the field. ���������As a viewer, if I am given a choice between braving the heat in the stadium and watching a film in a multiplex, I will opt for the latter. There is too much of cricket and for the kind of movie that I���������ve made, IPL will make no difference. Besides, there is enough space for cricket and films to co-exist. The viewership might get affected on the day of a home match. But that���������s hardly a reason for pushing the release date to after the IPL,��������� Debaditya insists.
Bappaditya Bandopadhyay, who is targeting a May 11 release for ���������ECA���������, says, ���������In fact, IPL is a safer time for films like ours to release. If we push the release date to sometime later, there will be an acute shortage of screening space.���������
Ex-cricketer Devang Gandhi agrees with Debaditya. ���������There���������s space for both forms of entertainment. Certain people like films and there are others who would rather be in the stadium watching a match. Good movies will always find a market. Personally, I���������ll go for an IPL match. It has to be cricket for me always.
Former footballer and coach Subrata Bhattacharya sees films and cricket as different forms of entertainment. ���������Those who love cricket will definitely watch a good match. IPL will get a crowd for a day, but a good film will pull the crowd on all seven days. I don���������t watch films or IPL.���������