New Delhi: With the lockdown being extended across the country till the end of the month, projects that were on the anvil in Bollywood are likely to see a setback. Big budget films like 'Sooryavanshi', scheduled for release on March 26, and the Ranveer Singh-starrer '83', scheduled to hit screens on April 10 have both been rescheduled. This unfortunate turn of events raises worrying questions about the fate slated for the number of extensive projects the industry has worked on since last year.
Veteran producer Anand Pandit, who has two prominent projects in the pipeline, 'Chehre' with Amitabh Bachchan, that is ready for release in July, and 'The Big Bull' starring Abhishek Bachchan, foresees a challenging time for the Hindi film industry as well as other regional film industries. “Projects that were nearing release in summer and monsoon are likely to see a setback. The writing is clear on the wall. We need to comprehend the situation and devise backup plans to salvage the inevitable delay as films that were up for release are definitely going to see a postponement.” Pandit said. The producer has been doing his bit during the current lockdown in providing financial aid to the daily wage workers and other employees working in his companies.
“Due to the backlog of films awaiting a release, we will have to be more united as an industry and see how all films are benefitted and not just a few. This is the time when the big-budget films will have to be more considerate towards smaller budget projects. Clashes at a point like this, once the pandemic is over, will definitely mean ruin for the smaller films releasing on the same weekend.”, Pandit adds.
But that's not all. Pandit who understands the business of cinema better than most people says that he feels most films might not even be released theatrically because audiences are going to be wary of going to the cinema halls in the near future. "Till the time the government gives the green signal for theaters to be open, theatrical releases are going to be stalled. Plus we are seeing a huge surge in the viewing of OTT content, so a large number of films might resort to releasing online. Much like in the case of 'Extraction' the multi-million dollar Hollywood film which is now releasing on Netflix worldwide in order to not further delay its release", the producer said.
Anand Pandit has collaborated and produced some iconic films under the banner Anand Pandit Motion Pictures. Interestingly he is working with both the Bachchans currently - with Big B in "Chehre" and Junior Bachchan in "The Big Bull" both set to release later this year.