Leading Bollywood film producer Vashu Bhagnani’s forthcoming Hindi film Kal Kissne Dekha — the first major Hindi film release ever since the multiplexes have drawn swords with producers — may not see the light of day on May 29 While the film has been ready for the past couple of months, the ongoing tussle over revenue-sharing issues between Bollywood producers and multiplexes has delayed its release twice already. It was slated to hit the theatres in April. However its release was postponed to May 29.
In fact, the movie with a production and marketing budget of around Rs 30 crore may not hit the theatre screens anytime soon because the worldwide distribution rights holder for the film — Reliance Big Entertainment’s film arm Big Pictures — is understood to have put pressure on Bhagnani not to release the film anywhere. Kal Kissne Dekha is important for Bhagnani as it is the launch pad for his son Jackky Bhagnani.
Sources say the main reason for postponing the release of his film is pressure on Bhagnani from Big Cinema — the multiplex business arm of Reliance ADA group as both multiplexes and Bollywood producers are at loggerheads over revenue-sharing arrangements among other related issues.
“We have just told Bhagnani that the multiplex-producers row is likely to end soon so why lose the opportunity of releasing it across 500 screens a few weeks later than releasing it now in 100 single screens on May 29,”confirmed a senior executive of Big Pictures on condition of anonymity.
“Bhagnani had taken a decision to release the film in single screen theatres and select multiplexes across India. However, Big Pictures threatened to terminate the entire five-film contract of which Kal Kissne Dekha is an integral part,” a source in the film producers-distributors lobby said. However, if Bhagnani releases Kal Kissne Dekha anywhere in the country on May 29, he stands to lose a lucrative Rs 150 crore-plus a contract covering five of his future film projects that he had signed last year with Big Pictures.
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