30 days to Diwali!

By Moviebuzz | Tuesday, 09 October , 2007, 10:09 2007

Diwali is hardly a month (Nov 8) away, but our Tamil film producers are yet to get into the top gear. As of now those who have confirmed their releases are- Azhagiya Tamil Mahan, Kannanmoochi Yaennada, Polladhavan, Vel. Both ATM and Vel will be having grand audio launches in the next few days, to kick start their publicity campaigns.

Meanwhile it is now more or less certain that the two big B’s- Bheema & Billa will not make it for Diwali, as work on both the projects can’t be completed on time. They are now expected to clash on December 14 or 21 as Christmas releases, a good five weeks after the Diwali!

Meanwhile in Tamilnadu and Kerala, the topic of discussion among the trade is the stiff competition posed to Tamil films from Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om(OSO), releasing worldwide with 2000 prints and Hollywood studio Sony Pictures first Bollywood film Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya with newcomers.

In Chennai city OSO is releasing in six screens including Sathyam big screen, while ATM is likely to release only in six screens, as they have dropped the earlier plans to go for a saturation release like Sivaji did with 15 screens! And in Kerala our Ilayathalapathy’s fort, SRK’s OSO is going to release the same number of prints as ATM! ATM and OSO are distributed in Tamilnadu and Kerala by the same distributor (Pyramid Saimira), which means they grab all good screens and together are a force to reckon with at the Diwali box-office.

At the same time Sony Pictures, who has tremendous clout among theatres in Tamilnadu and Kerala (Remember they distribute all Hollywood blockbusters like “Spiderman” series and other action movies?) are putting a lot of pressure on theatres to screen their Saawariyawhich they claim is Bobby, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ( mega hits in both the states) type love story!

In the fight between a south Indian corporate and a multinational, it is movies like Vel which gets caught in the crossfire. The Surya-Asin starrer has not got a single theatre in Kerala, and it looks like Vel will release in the state only two weeks after Diwali!