Richa Chadha and Neil Nitin Mukesh too busy to care for Ishqeria

Prerna Wadhawan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Richa Chadha

Richa Chadha and Neil Nitin Mukesh are too busy to promote their upcoming film, Ishqeria. As a result, producer-director Prerna Wadhawan is doing the rounds solo. Neil says he's tied up with brother Naman's upcoming directorial debut. Richa says she's busy with her next, Shakeela.

Their no-show is not exactly a surprise. This is what happens when a long-completed film releases after a gap. Most actors lose interest in it and refuse to promote it. Perhaps they should take a cue from Ranbir Kapoor who famously said, "An actor chooses a film and should take responsibility for it."

Seeing the light of the day four years after the filming had concluded, we hear, Ishqeria will simultaneously hit screens in India and China, making it the first Indian movie to do so.

Producer Yusuf Shaikh told mid-day that the film has received the green light from the Censor Committee in China. A chain of distributors, we're told, watched the film to zero in on who will pick it up. "Chinese distributors are confident that good Indian content works for their audiences too. Thus, they will try to minimise delays in releases to avoid piracy. Hopefully, we will be able to release the movie in India and China on September 21. After the Censor Board gives its certificate - a procedure that takes 24 hours - the film is screened for distributors so that a call on its exhibition can be taken," he said.

Pointing out that China has 70,000 screens, Shaikh says it makes for a big market for Bollywood filmmakers. Having been approached by Mauritius-based Liv Worldwide - a company that bridges the gap between filmmakers and distributors - Shaikh says CEO Nadeem Shah had assured him that the film will release on the stipulated day with Chinese sub-titles.

Ishqeria revolves around a small-town girl, played by Chadha, who heads to a city-based college and falls for the institute's sports star. Her friends then go to great lengths to play matchmakers for the duo.

The film, helmed by debutant director Prerna Wadhawan, also stars Bani J and Raj Babbar. After the shooting had wrapped up four years ago, it faced several hurdles, including the death of Wadhawan's producer-father Ravi Wadhawan. Prerna had then told mid-day, "We have finally overcome all the odds. We managed to get the ball rolling."

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates