Akshay Kumar’s much-awaited cop drama “Sooryavanshi” will hit the theatres on Diwali, while Ranveer Singh-starrer “’83” will release on Christmas this year, Reliance Entertainment has announced.

“Sooryavanshi”, directed by Rohit Shetty, was originally scheduled to release on March 24 and Kabir Khan-helmed “’83” was set to hit the cinema houses on April 10.

But both the movies were indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which led to theatres shutdown across the country and in other parts of the world.

“We have decided to release ‘Sooryavanshi’ during Diwali and ‘83’ will come out during Christmas this year. We are committed to release these two films in theatres first. As and when the government and exhibitors open cinema halls and the environment is safe and secure for audience to come, these things will have to happen,” Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO Reliance Entertainment, said.

“We are optimistic people and we have another five to six months to go from now and hopefully situation will be normal (by then). That’s the expectation. Usually, these films are slated for a date when festival is around and we thought it will be prudent to work towards that date,” he added.

“Sooryavanshi” is the third film in Shetty’s cop universe after Ajay Devgn’s “Singham” and Ranveer-starrer “Simmba”.

The film is presented by Reliance Entertainment and produced by Rohit Shetty Picturez in association with Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films.

“’83”, which chronicles India’s first World Cup win under the captaincy of Kapil Dev in 1983, also stars Hardy Sandhu, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiva, Saqib Saleem, Pankaj Tripathi and Deepika Padukone.

The film is produced by Khan, Madhu Mantena, Vishnu Induri and presented by Reliance Entertainment.

“Sooryavanshi” and “83” are the first two big films two have officially announce the theatrical release date as the country recovers from the pandemic, which has led to many star-studded projects opting for a direct-to-digital release.

The decision to put out the films on streaming services was not welcomed by many cinema chain owners, but the announcement of theatrical release of “Sooryavanshi” and “’83” has come as a relief.

“Exciting times ahead... Gearing up to release Rohit Shetty’s ‘Sooryavanshi’ on Diwali and Kabir Khan’s “83’ on Christmas this 2020,” PVR Cinemas, the largest theatre chain in the country, posted on its Twitter page.