The recent release schedule of Hindi film industry is not just problematic but worrisome at the same time. With week after week going blank with no new films coming to theatres, it seems there is a lot that’s wrong with the industry at the moment.
What makes it even more terrible is that whatever few films are releasing they are heading for a clash that is totally avoidable and therefore feels unnecessary. In fact it almost feels forced and that definitely is not a good or healthy sign.
Take the case of August, three major Hindi films came out and all on the same date of 15th August. These were Akshay Kumar led ‘Khel Khel Mein’, Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkumar Rao’s ‘Stree 2’ and John Abraham and Sharvari starrer ‘Vedaa’. Before that in August itself ‘Ulajh’ and ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’ clashed on 2nd August, though both failed terribly at the box office. The rest of August was left with no notable theatrical release.
In September there was no big release. Though Kareena Kapoor Khan’s ‘The Buckingham Murders’ and Siddhant Chaturvedi’s ‘Yudhra’ did release in September they hardly made any impact.
Graver is the situation with October where only two major Hindi films are releasing and they chose the same date to make their big screen appearance. Despite the fact the fact the rest of the month is empty none of the filmmakers took a step to shift the dates.
This mismanaged release schedule of Hindi films shows how sceptical filmmakers are about the audience’s response that they are not willing to go for a non holiday release slot even if it means clashing with multiple films. It also reflects their low confidence on their work.
October 2nd going without empty without any big Hindi film release is concerning. A mid week holiday release could have been perfect for any film that would have opted for it. Looks it was avoided to prevent clashing with ‘Joker 2’ that is releasing in India on this date. But then why not avoid clash with any other Hindi film specially when the whole month is about to go without any release.
Something similar will be seen with the Diwali holiday slot on 1st November when two biggies: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again are set to clash head on. Though there are other films set for release in November. One of these could have come a week early in October, thereby balancing the schedule.
While healthy competition is good for everyone, avoidable and often unjustifiable clashes ruin it all. Indian audience has always supported good content and it’s not dependent on any holiday. This madness for the holiday slots is slowly getting frustrating and there needs to be better planning and scheduling.
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