India has two main passions, one is cinema and another is cricket. In one aspect, we are already a winner with India winning the recently concluded T20 World Cup. With Cinema, it is a journey, and every year, we attain new highs and lows. Come 15th August, it is one of the most important dates in the year, as the country celebrates its Independence Day.However, over the years, it has also become an important date for the movie business, as it adds an extra day in their hands, when a huge population would be stepping out to watch films.
And this year, an array of films are releasing on 15th August, from Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s Stree, 2 to John Abraham and Sharvari’s Veda. This apart, Akshay Kumar’s Khel Khel Mein in Hindi to Vikram’s Thangalaan in Tamil to Ravi Teja’s Mr Bachchan and Ram Pothineni’s Double Ismart in Telugu are also releasing same day. With so many films hitting the screens, will it chaos for the audience or will it be a celebration of variety?
Trade Expert Taran Adarsh says , “ Out of these six, three are from the south. and they will dominate the footfalls there. In Hindi, I would say two is company and three is crowd. Between the three, Stree 2 has a clear edge based on the response the trailer and songs have generated.”
“The Independence day weekend is one of the best weekends in the calendar this year, as it coincides with Raksha Bandhan on Monday, and Parsi New Year, which also falls the same day. So it will be a clean run for the first 4 days of the week, and with no films releasing in the following weeks, whichever film is better will continue to draw the audience. Just that in the first weeks, no film will be able to get an optimum showcasing” , says trade analyst Komal Nahta.
If one has a look at the release calendar for Hindi films, most of the big films have attached themselves to holidays and festivals, like Ajay Devgn’s Singham Again and Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiya are releasing on Diwali, Alia Bhatt‘s Jigra and Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri’s Vicky Aur Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video on Dusshera, while Varun Dhawan‘s Baby John and Aamir Khan‘ Sitaare Zameen Par are releasing on Christmas . Komal Nahata states, “ This trend wasn’t there some 10-15 years ago, as back then films would be in theaters for 10-15-25 weeks but now, the game is mostly over after the first week.”