Will someone address the matter regarding release dates?

Will someone address the matter regarding release dates: The release dates have started to create a lot of confusion in the Punjabi film industry.

Before the start of 2019, we had done a piece on six habits which the Punjabi film industry should discontinue. While the industry hasn’t left a single habit wholly, it has incorporated some new misleading habits this year.

One can’t nullify the fact that release dates form a vital part in deciding a movie’s commercial fortune. If decoded in the right way, this mystery can yield affluent results at the box-office.

Gazing upon the movie announcements in the Punjabi film industry, it becomes difficult to fathom if the game regarding release dates is being played in the right manner or not. What looks like a well-thought plan at the time of film announcement usually becomes a mockery by the time a movie releases.

Yes, there are times when projects get delayed. But when a majority of projects start to get delayed (for many reasons), it questions the industry on grounds of professionalism and seriousness.

Will someone address the matter regarding release dates?

Let’s start with the example of February 8 this year. Two production houses had locked the dates for the release of their movies. By the time the release date arrived, none of them released their movie. While one of the two movies released in June, the other one is yet to be made public.

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In which isn’t the only case, producers in the Punjabi film industry are often found guilty of tampering with the release dates. The craze regarding release dates is primarily derived from producers wanting dates for festive weekends with an eye on better earnings. With no Punjabi movie releasing on Holi, Independence Day, Diwali, Christmas and New Year this year, wonder what this fuss is all about.

As many as 62 Punjabi movies releasing this year was a positive sign for the film industry. Had a movie released on each of the available 52 Fridays, there would have been a possibility of 10 clashes (more than one movie releasing on one Friday) this year. However, the 17 clashes which happened again speak about miscalculation on the part of the producers much like missing festive weekends.

While some producers do no good to neither themselves nor the others by not releasing their movies on the locked date, the others end messing things badly to the extent that deadline pressure is visible at the helm in their movies.

Time for actors to be aware

If the actors are given the surety regarding the release date at the time of narration, even they will be in a better position to plan their projects. Take the example of actor Dev Kharoud. Despite him being part of critically and commercially acclaimed movies, you don’t want him to be part of six movies within a span of 11 months for over-exposure in front of the audiences also has its ramifications.

Kharoud, who was seen in ‘Dakuaan Da Munda’ in August last year, also featured in ‘Yaar Velly’, ‘Jindri’, ‘Kaka Ji – Son of Royal Sardar’, ‘Blackia’ and ‘DSP Dev’. With the last one releasing on July 5 this year, even fans seemed to reach a saturation state where they didn’t want the same lead actor on the celluloid in every two months.

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Actress Wamiqa Gabbi was among the list of four Punjabi actresses who did four leading roles this year. That being said, Gabbi didn’t time her projects in the best of ways. In what was a strange co-incidence, both Gabbi’s first and last two movies released on consecutive Fridays.

The idea behind doing four movies in a year becomes shallow when you allure the limelight for only a month. Actress Simi Chahal suffered a similar fate as her three movies of 2019 were over by July. With ‘Bhajjo Veero Ve’ releasing in December 2018, make that four movies in a lead role within seven and a half months.

Agreed that not everything is in the actor’s hands with respect to the release of a movie but there is nothing which can’t be planned in a better way. When you are doing all the hard work, you might as well manage it in a way which yields better results for everyone.

For a close-knit entertainment industry like the Punjabi film industry, these issues are expected to get resolved with mutual understanding. If the producers continue to mess with the release dates right now, imagine what will happen some years down the line when the number of movies will be in vicinity of the three-figure mark.

While some release dates for the year 2020 have already been locked, some of them are witnessing intense tussles between makers who are not hesitating to play with dates after watching what the other person is doing. While there is nothing wrong in locking a date, continuously doing injustice with the same doesn’t serve any purpose for anyone.

About Dixit Bhargav

<p>Engineer. Sports Management student. Cricket enthusiast. Ardent follower of the Punjabi cinema.</p>