Milind Lele’s Marathi movie, AB Aani CD, featuring Vikram Gokhale and Amitabh Bachchan in a special appearance, was released in theatres on 13 March. Unfortunately, soon after, the country was placed in a lockdown to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively cutting short its theatrical run. The makers have now decided to release the movie on Amazon Prime Video on 1 May.
In an official statement, producer Akshay Vilas Bardapurkar said, “It is extremely unfortunate that COVID-19 has hit the country and we are helpless about it. The security and health of the people is of utmost importance. Nothing is possible without the support of the people. We had earlier decided to re-release the film after 14 April [when the lockdown was earlier supposed to end].
“But after the lockdown was extended, we had a discussion with the film’s digital partner Amazon Prime Video and decided to release it online on a special date. We decided on 1 May because it is known as Labour Day. It is because of the efforts of these workers that we have defeated COVID-19 to some extent. Hence, we decided to dedicate the film to these corona warriors."
AB Aani CD also stars Akshay Tanksale and Sayali Sanjeev and has a special appearance by Subodh Bhave.
On 13 March, another Marathi film, Vijeta, featuring Bhave and Pooja Sawant, was also released. The producers of that film, Mukta Arts, have decided to re-release it in theatres whenever the lockdown ends.