THIS summer has action aplenty in real life, courtesy the elections or the IPL season, to make up for quiet that has taken over our theatres. The traditional summer season, known for family entertainers or comic capers in showbiz, has taken a beating, losing to the IPL in eyeball catching.
IPL, in its first year of inception, taught Kollywood a tough lesson: In the period coinciding with the IPL last year, 13 Tamil films were released. And none of them, including Vijay’s (interestingly, the brand ambassador for Chennai Super Kings) 'Kuruvi' and S Pictures 'Arai En 305-il Kadavul', were a hit. Perhaps, not taking their cues from the past were 12 films that got released in the same season this year, with only one in them, 'Pasanga', being recorded as a hit.
But the best and biggest of the summer releases, fearing stiff competition from cricket and politics, have retreated to a grand opening in June. Despite being considered the school season traditionally, June and July will see some of this year’s most anticipated films hitting the screen. These include the much-hyped Vikram-Shriya starrer 'Kanthasamy', which is slated for a June end release, Selvaraghavan’s 'Aayirathil Oruvan', which will be a July 4 release, and Cheran’s 'Pokkisham', which is being planned for a mid-June release.
Besides these, a volley of small budget flicks, from Anitha Udeep’s 'Kulir 100' to Karan’s 'Malayan', are waiting to check the response that the big films receive and then release their films. While some filmmakers are candid about these being the reasons for delaying their film’s release, a few filmmakers have cited other big films and theatre availability as the cause for their film’s delay.
Whatever be the reason, June and July will be the season for film buffs to watch out for!
Capturing what is left of summer
Vishal’s 'Thoranai' hopes to catch on what remains of the holiday season following the Tweny20 series. The movie, which features Shriya and Vishal in the lead, was made planning to be a summer release, and has the ingredients of an ideal commercial flick, like comedy, sentiment and action. The film, produced by GK Film Corporation, will be rleeased this Friday, jist htree days before the IPL ends. But the producers also hope to capture the international market, and will hold a grand premiere in Malaysia, with Vishal and Shriya walking the red carpet.
Big releases in Bollywood too
Add to the division of attention caused by IPL and election, a stalemate between the producers and multiplex owners about revenue sharing. This has dearly caused the box office in Bollywood, with no big films to boast of, this summer. Today’s meeting between the multiplex owners and producers is expected to yield positive results, for a slew of films that will release in June and July. This includes John Abraham’s New York, Salman Khan’s Wanted, Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra’s Kaminey and Big B’s Aladdin.
sharadha@epmltd.com