Constant change in release dates of big Marathi films spells trouble for other filmmakers

Constant changes in release dates of big films like 'Lai Bhaari', 'Poshter Boyz' and 'Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush' has left other Marathi filmmakers in a lurch to fix a date for the release of their upcoming films.
The release date of Riteish Deshmukh's Marathi debut film 'Lai Bhaari', has changed at least four to five times in the last six months. The latest announced release date as July 11, announced in May , led to a change in the release date of another big budget film 'Poshter Boyz', produced by Shreyas Talpade.Though Shreyas had blocked July 4 as the release date for his film much in advance, he had to push it to August 1 to avoid a clash with Riteish's film.
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Speaking on the issue Shreyas said, ���I shifted my release date only because the makers of 'Lai Bhaari' have been very uncertain about the film's release date. They have changed dates from December to February to March. I spoke to them before announcing the release date of 'Poshter Boyz' and only after they told me that they were coming on May 1, did I decide to release my film on July 4. As industry seniors suggest that a minimum three week gap should be maintained between two big releases, I decided to take a good two month space. However, Riteish film's release date was randomly pushed to July 11. I tried talking to the film's makers but they were very stubborn and I failed to get a positive response from them. I was left with the option to either clash with them or push my release date. I chose to be the accommodating one and shifted the release date. As a producer this postponement will cost me some financial losses but it is fine. "Speaking against this trend, Shreyas added, "While shifting the date I have been careful so as to not affect any other Marathi film the way we were by the makers of 'Lai Bhaari'. Only after I got to know from distributors that no film was scheduled for August 1 did we block the date."
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Subjected to a similar confusion, 'Tujhi Majhi Love Story' (TMLS), originally scheduled for a July 11 release, was preponed to June 20 after the date was blocked for Riteish's film. Rushikesh More, director of 'TMLS', said, "If makers of films like 'Lai Bhaari' announce release dates at the last moment then filmmakers like me will face major problems in planning their release dates. We could have postponed our film but chose not to, as about eight to 10 films have already been postponed. To have a clear week long run our only option was to pre-pone the film." Speaking on the sacrifices being made by others in the industry, Amey Khopkar, producer of 'Lai Bhaari' said, ���I am extremely thankful to Shreyas Talpade and other filmmakers for shifting their release dates. We did try considering other films and their release dates as well but July 11 was the best date for us."
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On a similar note, makers of 'Rege' too are fuming after the release date for Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush was scheduled for August 15. Ravi Jadhav who is presenting the film 'Rege', said, ���It is very unfortunate that two really good films are releasing on the same date. 'Rege's August 15 release date was announced in October last year and the promotional strategies were planned around it accordingly . 'Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush's trailers were attached to films that released in January this year and post that its release date has changed several times."
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Elaborating on it Ravi said, "Shuffling release dates is like cheating the audience as announcing a release date in advance is like taking an appointment from the audience. Also when a filmmaker is uncertain about his release date I feel he/she is taking the audience lightly. Release date of the film should be announced at least six months in advance."