Bollywood gets high in July

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript" src="Config?Configid=43376741"></script><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/53265.cms" alt="/photo/53265.cms" border="0" />Bollywood lines up a spate of movie releases this month.<br /><br />How much is too much for Bollywood? With eight releases lined up this month, and an equal number headed the theatre way in August, the answer is: nothing is enough! With horror films such as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saaya</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hawaa</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Darna Mana Hai</span>; action-dramas such as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Qayamat</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Jaal</span>; and comedies such as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hungama</span> up Bollywood’s sleeve, variety is the spice of the viewer’s life.<br /><br />Yet, there’s no escaping that question: will these films, competing as they are with each other for the audience pie, spell hara-kiri for a cash-strapped film industry? ‘‘Yes, films do cut into each other’s business,’’ says distributor Ginni Chaddha, who has the rights for <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Qayamat</span>, ‘‘Still, there is a different audience for different films.’’<br /><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/53266.cms" alt="/photo/53266.cms" border="0" />But what about <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saaya</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hawaa</span>, both of which have supernatural themes? Saaya producer Mukesh Bhatt maintains that his movie is ‘‘a family film which even children can watch.’’ But <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hawaa</span> director Guddu Dhanoa has a different take: ‘‘Any film is affected by 25 per cent if there is another release on the same day.’’<br /><br />By the way, April to August is considered the peak period for Bollywood since school and college exams are over.‘‘But this year, April was barren because of the face-off between producers and distributors,’’ says debutant director Deepak Tijori, whose <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Oops</span>! will be released around the same time as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Koi Mil Gaya</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Teen Deewarein</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Jogger’s Park</span>. <br /><br />Distributor Uday Kaushish, in turn, refutes the theory that April was hit by the strike in the film industry: ‘‘Even May was a light month. It is only in June that the overcrowding of film releases has started.’’ <br /><br />Beyond the blame game, everyone is unanimous that, it is content that matters. Yes, in the world of the box-office, the viewer apart, content is king.</div> </div>