Punjabi screen gets bigger

wo regional language movies to choose from on any given Friday is baffling, even for those who do not understand the box-office model in India. Hold on, this Friday Pollywood viewers can take their pick from the four Punjabi films currently running at theatres!

That’s a first for this region’s cinema and while problem of plenty might be a good thing for the audience, it is not so much for the industry. Which, by the way, is all set for yet another big clash next Friday as well, wherein Ammy Virk-starrer Muklawa locks horns with Gippy Grewal’s Chandigarh Amritsar Chandigarh. We let those from the Punjabi film industry do the maths for us.

Freaky Fridays

Producer Rrupaali Gupta, whose film 15 Lakh Kadon Auga, a political satire, releases today and clashes with Lukan Michi, wishes there was an association or some such governing body in the industry to ensure more harmony and logic behind the films hitting the screens every Friday.

“At the end of the day, the number of Fridays are fixed and Punjabi speaking audience and viewers are limited, and they can’t afford to go watch two movies each week anyway! It would be in the best interest of the industry if there was more harmony among production houses.”

Let’s do the screen count

Says Gunbir Singh Sidhu, MD, White Hill Production, “The clashes are bound to happen, given the number of films being made each year. Although, ideally, some of the big clashes should be avoided by some regulating body or association wherein the producers can sit together and talk.” He adds, “After all, unlike the Hindi films that release on 4,500 screens, Punjabi films have only 220 to 250 screens. You can stretch it to 300 also, but that would be more figurative than real.”

Let the content decide

Munish Sahni, who under his banner Omjee Group, produces and distributes some of the biggest films in the year, feels they can’t really be called clashes and are also unavoidable. “From five-to-six Punjabi films being made in a year earlier, now there are 50 to 60 movies releasing each year. The overseas weather ensures that several weeks are not appropriate for releasing because Punjabi films have a huge market there as well. Then there are big Hollywood franchisees like Avengers and Spiderman that need to be kept in mind, let alone the Bollywood films. So, in effect, there are only 30 to 35 weeks wherein everyone wants to cash in,” he says.

He adds, “There are 150 Marathi films releasing in a year, so if the content is good both will find audience.” Which is just what producer Avtar Singh Bal is hoping as his Lukan Michi releases today, “Both are different films and hopefully they’ll both find their audience. As long as the content is good.”