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The industry normally releases at least two big budget movies each month, but this time around most movie makers are unwilling to release films as they believe footfalls will be low. Producers are planning a mid-summer release after the IPL mania has died down and exams are done with. “I went to a theatre in the city yesterday and there was only one ticket sold. It is shocking but the reality is that parents don’t turn up in theatres as their kids have exams. Youngsters obviously don’t turn up because of exams and IPL matches. It doesn’t make business sense releasing movies until the end of this month,” says Sreedhar Reddy, director of Snehageetham, who has completed filming and will release the movie next month. More than eight lakh students are appearing for their intermediate and Class X exams this month and IPL’s third season hits the screens this week. With most movie scripts centred around youngsters, producers see little sense in releasing films now. Allu Arjun’s Varudu and Varun Sandesh starrer Maro Charitra have completed shooting schedules, but the films will grace the screens only this month-end. Movies such as Sontha vooru, Malli Malli and Manorama starring Charmee, which released last year during the IPL season had bombed at the box office. So this time around, the IPL has been labelled ‘off-season’ for film releases by the Telugu film industry. “IPL and exams are two big factors for sure. Our movie has a lot of youth content and we don’t think it is a good idea to release it when youngsters are busy with something else. We also have to take the opinion of distributors, check the availability of theatres and then take the final decision,” says RK who produced Andari Bandhuvaya starring Sharwananad and Padmapriya. Though a few small budget as well as some B and C grade films will release this month, they are doing so as they fear theatres may not release their films later due to stiff competition from big flicks after the exams and IPL. Vijandar Reddy, member of AP Film chamber of commerce, confirms, “Only small budget movies like Tejam and Sneham will release this season. These movies would otherwise not find takers at multiplexes.” Industry sources say filmmakers who have already announced their film’s release at the month-end, may postpone the date if the Deccan Chargers fare well in the IPL series. Smart producers have timed the release of their films in the last week of March immediately after the examinations as most students head straight for the movies after their exams. “To an extent, exams and IPL affect collections. So we are releasing the film right after the last day of the exams and we are sure it will keep us in a comfortable position,” says N.M. Pasha, creative producer of Maro Charitra. Post-IPL releases * Varudu starring Allu Arjun, * Maro Charitra starring Varun Sandesh * Simha starring Balakrishna * Darling with Prabhas in the lead. |