Bollywood eyes multiple releases

Mumbai: More than three years after his last release Endhiran (Robot), Rajinikanth is back on the big screen with Kochadaiiyaan. However, the release is amidst a mad rush, what with half-a-dozen Hindi films releasing on the same day, apart from other Tamil, Telugu and Hollywood films.

“While it is a fact that Eros will give the Rajinikanth-starrer  a big release on May 9, there are many other films in the radar as well — the most notable ones being Koyelaanchal and Hawa Hawaai. There’s also Mastram, Manjunath, Ye Hai Bakrapur and Khwaabb,” informs our source. This is unusual, since the norm is for other films to reschedule their arrival in the face of a big release.

“Koyelaanchal and Hawa Hawaai had confirmed their plans long ago so they can’t be expected to make any changes. Now that Kochadaiiyaan is also releasing on the same date, it is too late for anyone to take another look at the release calendar. Instead, a much smaller film like Mastram has intensified its promotion. As for the other three, they could well re-evaluate their choice of release date, considering their promotion has been minimal,” a trade guru adds.

But that seems unlikely since election results will be announced the Friday after that. And though Bollywood in general has stayed away from June 16, Himesh Reshammiya will release The Xposé on this date. “It is an exception and Himesh could well reap the benefits of a solo release,” adds the trade guru.