Back in business, one film at a time

Akshay Kumar’s film has received positive reviews

Someone had to make a start after the slump that cinemas have been in since the second lockdown in April. In this case, Akshay Kumar did. Last week, Bell Bottom became the first Bollywood film since April to pursue a theatrical release. All eyes have since been on the thriller to gauge if more movies can take the big-screen route.

With Mumbai and certain parts of Maharashtra yet to reopen their movie halls, Bell Bottom's first weekend collections are understandably underwhelming. But trade analyst Taran Adarsh points out that in the current scenario, business is not the top priority, changing behaviour patterns is. "Hats off to Akshay and Vashu [Bhagnani, producer] for showing the confidence to release the film amid the pandemic! It will now need a continuous [supply of] fresh content, like Sooryavanshi, 83 and Thalaivi. The next big film is Amitabh Bachchan's Chehre. It will take time for people to return to theatres because it's no longer a habit," says Adarsh. He adds that the Ranjit M Tewari directorial venture has collected approximately nine crore in the first three days - a respectable figure, given the constraints. "We lost 30 per cent of the revenue from Maharashtra. Plus, there are restrictions in terms of show limitations. In a normal scenario, Akshay's films earn around Rs 13 to 14 crore per day. But right now, it is not about the collections; it is about getting the audience back to theatres."

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Trade analyst Ramesh Bala doesn't share Adarsh's optimistic view. "The film has performed below expectations. People aren't going back to movie halls, or have assumed it will drop on an OTT platform soon," he says, noting that the lack of urgency to watch a film is a sign of the changed viewing pattern. "The lack of results shouldn't deter other directors. With KGF: Chapter 2 postponed to December, filmmakers are waiting for the market to recover so that they can make the most of their projects."

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