A lot of talk has been going on since the past few days about Director Rohit Shetty's long-awaited action bonanza, Sooryavanshi, from his super-cop universe, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, with cameos by Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh, reprising their roles as Singham and Simmba. Speculation is rife that after waiting for almost a year to release owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Sooryavanshi may still not meet its 2nd April deadline in multiplexes, and the movie could probably only hit single screens, which could also mean a simultaneous OTT release, something Shetty dearly wanted to avoid since the beginning, hence the prolonged wait. So, why the new obstacles after the government has allowed 100% occupancy to be renewed in theatres. Well, BollywoodLife has learnt from a trusted industry insider that it's all boiling down to the moolah. Also Read - Ranveer Singh on his ‘whimsical’ fashion choices: I do it for my own amusement
A source high up in the industry's distribution circles informs us that Reliance Entertainment, one of the producers (Rohit Shetty and Karan Johar being the other two) as also the distributor of Sooryavanshi has made a pretty stiff demand to all multiplex chains across the country. Basically, they want to each plex chain to pay a heft lumpsum fee prior to the release of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrer, the amount for which they are not only unwilling to negotiate on, but also stipulate that said lumpsum fee comes with no minimum guarantee of return once the film opens at the box-office. What's more, this deal is supposed to be inked in addition to the fixed sharing ration between the multiplexes and producers, which would normally exist for a period of three weeks. Also Read - Yash-Sanjay Dutt's KGF 2 is the most-awaited Indian film, followed Golmaal 5 and '83
Our source adds that the reasoning behind this is said to be the long wait the makers of Sooryavanshi have had to bear, which has in turn surmounted the production budget as is wont to happen whenever a biggies lies in wait. And as they're unwilling to budge from their stance, the plexes are fretting as they, too, have incurred massive losses over the past year, and though Sooryavasnhi is one release every exhibitor in every territory in every center is waiting for with bated breath, this is too big a risk for anyone to take after such lengthy period of loss, as it'd also mean that the Kabir Khan directorial, '83, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi and Saqib Saleem amongst a huge ensemble cast, would likely come forth with the same terms, since that film has also been bankrolled by Reliance Entertainment. Also Read - '83: Pankaj Tripathi REVEALS he would share his stories and 'extensive knowledge' to bond with the boys on set
So, will one party cave or will both come to a mutual, more feasible understanding. Sooryavanshi is set to release on 2nd April while '83 is looking at a release window between 11th and 25th June. With considerable time left for both film to hit screens, let's keep our fingers crosses that all the parties involved can find a path they'd all be equally happy to traverse so that these big-budget multi-starrers release across big screens in the country like they're meant to and not on OTT platforms.
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