February 19 will go down in Bollywood history as the day on which release date announcements of as many as five star cast films were made. The day started with Vashu Bhagnani declaring that his Bellbottom would hit the screens on 28th May, 2021. The Ranjit M. Tewari directorial venture stars Akshay Kumar, Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi.
Just a few hours later came the news that Abhishek Kapoor’s Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui would release on July 9 this year. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor.
Aanand L. Rai’s Atrangi Re will release on 6th August this year. This announcement was also made today, after the release date of Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui was made. Atrangi Re stars Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush.
Then came the announcement that Nagraj Manjule’s Amitabh Bachchan starrer Jhund will release on 18th June, 2021.
The eagerly awaited 83 will finally release on 4th June this year. The cricket film was scheduled to hit the screens last year on 10th April but that was not to be, thanks to the pandemic lockdown leading to the cinema closure. Its new release date was announced less than an hour back today. The Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone starrer is directed by Kabir Khan.
Coming as they do after a year-long lull in Bollywood, these five release announcements on a single day have made the trade dance with joy. Just two days back, Yash Raj Films had announced the release dates of its 2021 slate of five films. The announcements of 17th and 19th February seem to be working as the proverbial balm for the down-and-out industry.