The audience is back in the South with Master and Krack and obviously the calls will be there now for major Hindi films to come back. The dynamics of the Hindi film industry are slightly different but Sooryavanshi on Holi can be a start as long as the pandemic does not see another wave.

The Hindi film industry still needs a little time as it would be catastrophe if a film releases in the next month or so but the public does not come in numbers. The big film in the South is being led by Vijay who is a bonafide superstar in Tamil Nadu. Now we have bigger superstars in Hindi cinema as our cinema has a reach across most of the country but our superstars do not have the level of superstardom that Vijay has Tamil Nadu in any area. 

Salman Khan has strongest following in Rajasthan and CI but its not at the level of Vijay in Tamil Nadu. Shahrukh Khan is best in Kolkatta but again not at the level of Vijay in Tamil Nadu. Also these areas where there is a certain amount of blind following for a certain star are nowhere near as big as Tamil Nadu in terms of collections.

This is not just the case today but earlier also as Amitabh Bachchan is probably the biggest superstar that India has seen but the level of stardom in his strongest area of Mumbai city was not at the level of a Rajnikant in Tamil Nadu. 

In our industry the dynamics are different with different regions and tastes differ where the superstar plays a part but other factors also come in. If a superstar had the pull Vijay has in Tamil Nadu across the Hindi markets from North to East to Maharashtra you could release that film next week and it will be at allowed capacity houses across the board even in a pandemic. But this has never happened and probably never will as its much easier to hold that sort of stardom in one state but not across 10 or 12 states.

The films released in South including Master are being driven by the youth mass audience and with family audiences in much lower numbers compared to 2019. This is the case in multiplexes in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai which have seen good turnouts and our collections are heavily multiplex lopsided and a big film needs that neutral family audience to get big numbers. At the moment there is a reluctance for this audience to come out and the 50% cap does not help as it shows something is not quite right.

So despite Master bringing back the audience in the South there will still be fear in the Hindi film industry as major studios will be aware of the dynamics but a start has to be made somewhere and Holi looks best bet. This gives a little time for things to improve and on top its a mass holiday and this audience will be more eager to return back to the theatres. Also there could be a change in the capacity rule by then which would be a huge help and Rajasthan and Jharkhand will be allowed to open cinemas. Obviously it has to be a mass film and Sooryavanshi is the one which is ready and waiting.

The Friday release could give jitters but then the film can release on Sunday 28th March which is a holiday and then next day is the Holi holiday with the week having mini holidays in many states which will no doubt aid collections. Also there are around 10-12 major films which have a chance of releasing in the rest of the year (1983, Satyamev Jayate 2, Radhe, Shamshera, Bell Bottom, Prithviraj Chauhan, Atrangi Re, Jersey, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Lal Singh Chaddha and Bachchan Pandey) and these films can take care of business from May onward.

These film releases with a gap between them will keep the flow and cinemas occupied for most of the year. Then there is KGF Chapter 2 which is the white horse and is sure to do huge numbers in Mumbai circuit and if its huge satellite craze plays out in other circuits then its going to be a huge bonus for the Hindi markets. As it is the top 10 films amount for around 65-70% of the yearly business.

Obviously most of these films are a year late and the biggest of them Sooryavanshi had a trailer release last year and now has to start again which is not easy. It basically means no real event film but those will come next year with Pathan, Tiger franchise and Fighter and maybe another one or two. The long in making and hugely budgeted Brahamstra may also have to wait till next year although has outside chance of coming this year depending on when the film can get finished.

It is Sooryavanshi which will have to make the start and Holi would be the best bet at the moment and that is assuming there is not another covid19 wave but its going to be a studio call and remains to be seen what happens.