The advance booking windows for Reliance Entertainment’s 83 had opened at Maratha Mandir and Gaiety cinemas of Bombay, just like they had at other single-screen cinemas and multiplexes of the metropolis. But while the Ranveer Singh starrer is showing at all the other cinemas, its posters and publicity materials have been removed from Maratha Mandir and Gaiety cinemas. Not just that, members of the public, who had booked their tickets for the cricket film in advance at these two cinemas, are being refunded their monies. For, 83 is not screening at both the cinemas!
The story goes thus: Vinay Choksey is the booker for Maratha Mandir, Gaiety-Galaxy group of cinemas and a host of other cinemas in Bombay. When Reliance Entertainment decided to not give the screening rights of 83 to some of the other cinemas booked by Choksey, he threatened to not allow the film’s release at the prime Maratha Mandir and Gaiety cinemas too. Rather than bow down to Choksey’s arm-twisting tactics, Reliance, “with a heavy heart”, decided to forgo Maratha Mandir and Gaiety cinemas. The Kabir Khan film was scheduled for release in daily 2 shows at Maratha Mandir and daily 4 shows at Gaiety.
Who stands to lose because of the cancellation of the release? Of course, both, the producers/distributors as well as the two cinemas! The audience of Bombay city would vouch for the fact that a film like 83 deserved cinemas like Maratha Mandir and Gaiety. Likewise, the two cinemas deserved to screen a film like 83. The cancellation of the release is only a result of the ego of the booker. Frankly, shouldn’t it be the producer/distributor’s prerogative to decide which cinema his film needs to be screened in? Yes, it can hurt the ego of the booker if some of his cinemas don’t get to screen a coveted film, but cancelling the release of that coveted film in other deserving cinemas is unprofessionalism.
Maratha Mandir and Gaiety cinemas are screening Pushpa (dubbed) and other films now instead of 83.