Written by: JBR
The World Cup cricket that takes place every 4 years is to start in a few weeks. Cricket is not as popular as football, but in England and the countries it colonized, cricket is more popular than football.
The days India is playing, not only the streets, but also theatres are near empty. The people stay glued to their TV sets and radios. On such days, some theaters even screen cricket matches to draw in the crowd.
This cricket fever seems to have caught on in the film field...especially in films.
The benefits awarded to the Tamil film field by the Govt have put the producers in such a happy mood that many medium budget films are being churned out every month. Now and then we see the real big budget films too.
About 8 films were to be released for Pongal, but many changed plans since there actually was a shortage of theatre availability. There was also hesitation in wanting to compete with films of Ajith, Vijay and Vishal. Some had production problems.
Those films that did not get released due to any of the above reasons, will definitely get released this February. It also happens that some films which were originally scheduled for a March release are being finished in a hurry for release in Feb. The reason is simple. World Cup Cricket is to start in March.
There is a reason why they are hesitating to release the films after the World Cup. Rajini's 'Sivaji' and Kamal's 'Dasavataram' are to be released then. And releasing their films at this time would be like mice getting squashed amid sumo wrestlers. So, producers feel Feb is a good month when they can release their films and not get into a panic.
About 20 films are to be released this month. Originally scheduled for Pongal release, 'Veerasamy' starring Vijaya T Rajender, Meghna Naidu and Mumtaz got released in the beginning of this month. 'Pori' directed by Subramaniam Siva and starring Jeeva and Pooja also got released. 'Deepavali' was not released for Pongal, and is to hit the theatres shortly. Having lain in cans for many years, 'Agaram' is also to be released.
Two dubbed films are also to be released. One is 'Saadhanai' directed by a 9 year old. The other is 'Lakshiyam-Oru Thaayin Sabadham' directed by Raghava Lawrence.
Yesterday, Gautham's 'Pachaikili Muthucharam' got released. Today, 'Lee' Produced by Sathyaraj and starring Sibi, is getting released. This is one of the films affected by cricket fever.
There are only 2 weeks left in the month and so many films are to be released. One is Ameer's 3rd film 'Paruthiveeran.' It could not be released for Pongal due to finance problems and is getting released on 23rd.
'Mozhi' produced by Prakashraj's Duet Films and starring Jyotika in her last screen appearance, is also getting released on Feb 23. On the same date, 'Solli Adippen' with Vivek in the hero role, is getting released. It's been in the making for a long time.
These have all been announced. Those not announced could amount to at least 10. Among them are...
'Sabari' starring Vijayakanth as a doctor, 'Muni' directed by Raghava Lawrence and produced by Saran, 'Thirumagan' with Meera Jasmine and S J Suryah playing the lead roles, 'Koodal Nagar' where Bharath plays dual role, 'Oram Po' starring Arya and Pooja, 'Periyar' featuring Sathyaraj and Khushboo are some of the big budget films.
Small budget films aiming for a Feb release include 'Pirappu,' 'Kannum Kannum,' 'Nenjathai Thodu,' 'Cinemakkaran,' 'Rasigar Manram,' 'Thoovanam,' 'Adaavadi' and 'Kaasu Irukkanaum.'
So many films clamoring for release at the same time because of the cricket matches poses a problem that cannot be easily solved. First, theatres have to be available to release all these films. Even 10 films getting released per month is too much. 'Pokkiri' and 'Thamirabharani' released for Pongal are still running to full houses. Some dubbed Hollywood films have also been released.
A few weeks back, the Producers Association brought a ban on 2 films of the same actor being released on the same day. The executive committee also announced that they would curtail too many films being released at the same time. But it looks like cricket is forcing this scenario on the film industry.
Those who have their films ready are eager to release their films at least 2 weeks before the matches start. How is this rush of Tamil films going to be controlled by producers, distributors, theatre owners? How are viewers going to handle this overkill of film releases?
Looks like this issue is going to be as interesting as the World Cup cricket matches!
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-10.01.2007
