The question uppermost in every trade person’s mind today is: Will S.S. Rajamouli’s latest offering, RRR, revolt against the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus, rise to the occasion, and roar on the cinema screens on its scheduled release date of 7th January, 2022? With new COVID-19 restrictions having been introduced by various state governments in view of the increasing number of Coronavirus cases every day, the fear of a fresh lockdown looms large. Although there is no lockdown declared in Delhi, the government ordered cinemas there to down shutters from 29th December. If even a couple of more states follow the Delhi example, it might be unthinkable for any film to release till the situation changes.
The trade, which was basking in the recent successes of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Pushpa: The Rise Part 1 and last month’s success of Sooryavanshi, was knocked out when the producers of Jersey announced earlier this week the cancellation of its 31st December release. All eyes, therefore, are now on S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR. With a budget of over Rs. 500 crore, not only is it one of the costliest Indian films to be made but it is also expected to do huge business, given the filmmaker’s stupendous track record of blockbusters including Bahubali and Bahubali 2: The Conclusion.
In its quest to bring you the latest updates, we spoke to Dr. Jayantilal Gada who will be distributing the Hindi version of RRR all over India except the Southern states.
“Our endeavour is to come on the scheduled date. We are trying our level best to release RRR on 7th January,” began Gada. He continued, “We will try not to change the release date in spite of cinemas in the capital city being shut.” Meanwhile, a glimmer of hope, at least in Maharashtra, came today in the form of a circular issued by the government, allowing cinemas to remain open till 1 a.m. on the following day instead of 12 midnight the same day.
It is believed that Rajamouli, his son, S.S. Karthikeya, producer D.V.V. Danayya and Jayantilal Gada will take a final decision tomorrow night (1st January, 2022) or latest by the morning of 2nd. They are trying to weigh the plusses and minuses of releasing the film on schedule as against the plusses and minuses of postponing it. If a decision to postpone the release is taken, the biggest problem that would arise is to reschedule it on a new date. Given the huge line-up of films, getting a suitable release date might not be easy. Besides, there’s the interest on investment to be factored in. Since the film is very expensive, every day of delay comes with a huge cost!
There’s another major problem in Andhra Pradesh for the Telugu version of RRR. With the government having virtually capped the ticket prices of films, distributors of films acquired at fancy prices might find it challenging to honour their commitments of the fancy prices. Know-alls say that in view of the changed scenario in Andhra (ticket pricing) as well as in the country (COVID-19), the producers might have to arrive at new prices for the already sold distribution rights of the various circuits and sub-circuits.
Meanwhile, Gada is firm on his stand that the film will not stream on OTT platforms before 75 to 90 days from theatrical release. “This is a film which will have a long run at the cinemas. It, therefore, made sense to delay its digital premiere. That won’t change,” he concluded.
So while the audience would have to wait for at least 10-12 weeks to catch the big film on the small screen, the trade people will have to wait for 24 to 36 hours to know whether they are in for a New Year’s gift from Rajamouli.