All quiet on Bollywood front: Producers postpone launches, delay promotions as border tensions dent confidence
Geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan have significantly impacted the Hindi film industry, leading to delayed promotions, postponed releases, and potential losses of ₹150-200 crore. Uncertainty in theatrical performance and low producer confidence further contribute to the industry's woes, with some films opting for direct streaming releases. While some believe the impact will be minimal, others fear substantial financial repercussions.
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Mumbai: The military conflict between India and Pakistan seems to have had an unproportionate impact on the Hindi film industry, with many filmmakers delaying promotional and marketing activities, and postponing, or even shelving, film and trailer launches.The industry is staring at an estimated or potential loss of '150-200 crore in the form of cost of capital and deferred revenues due to this, according to producers and trade analysts."In these times of geopolitical unrest, cinema pauses not from the lack of creativity but from caution," said Suniel Wadhwa, a veteran film distributor and co-founder and director at Karmic Films. "There are losses in the form of delayed cash, sunk costs, interest on idle capital, broken contracts, and missed momentum. These will have a ripple impact on producers, promotional and advertising agencies, theatres, financiers, and even streamers," he said."I think more than '700-800-crore worth of Hindi films stand vulnerable at this stage," Wadhwa said.To be sure, there has already been a sense of uncertainty around theatre attendance in the industry, fuelled by a series of box-office flops and an overall decline in collections in recent months, largely due to shifting audience preferences.The launch of Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, and the subsequent military conflict further dampened the mood among producers of several Hindi films slated for release in May and June.Makers of Kesari Veer and Housefull 5 stalled promotional activities, while those behind Sitaare Zameen Par and Thug Life postponed the releases of their trailer and audio soundtrack, respectively. Producers of mid-budget film Bhul Chuk Maaf opted to forego theatre release entirely and instead debut the film on a streaming platform.Some veteran trade analysts attributed a part of such actions to low confidence among producers."Even though one cannot rule out the impact of Indo-Pak conflict on cinema, one also has to consider that a big reason behind delaying releases is low confidence of producers to release films in theatres due to increasing unpredictability in theatrical performance of films," said Shaaminder Malik, a film distributor and trade analyst. "Consequently, there are makers of upcoming big-budget films who are planning to release their films directly on streamers after their teasers and trailers received unfavourable response," he added.Meanwhile, production of the sequel of the film Sanam Teri Kasam, which performed well on its re-release recently, may get delayed because the main actor has declined to work with the main actress because she is from Pakistan.Some industry insiders believe the impact would be minimal as the border tensions have eased and life has returned to normal in most of the country since India and Pakistan agreed to stop military action on Saturday."I think films scheduled to release in May will be impacted. But releases in June will not be impacted that much," producer Rajesh R Nair said. "But I think Hollywood releases in May will be a saving grace as these franchise films have a huge following in India and their makers are not postponing their release."
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