The Haryana government has asked all the malls in the state to remain shut tomorrow (15th August) for security reasons as it is Independence Day. If the malls remain closed, multiplexes situated in those malls would per force have to suspend their shows. This will mean a loss of crores of rupees for Bollywood in general and the two new films slated for release tomorrow in particular.
As is well-known, Mission Mangal and Batla House will release on 15th August instead of 16th which is a Friday, to take advantage of the Independence Day holiday. In addition, Raksha Bandhan will also be celebrated tomorrow. This is expected to translate into humongous collections for the two films. Since Gurgaon and other centres of Haryana have many multiplexes, the loss is expected to be very pronounced. Of course, multiplexes are trying to reason out with the state government that movie watching cannot be a security hazard and hence they should be allowed to keep their screens open.
The trade in general and the producers and distributors of Mission Mangal and Batla House in particular are hoping that the government would see reason in their argument and allow them to conduct shows in the multiplexes situated in malls.