Coronavirus effect: 83 trailer launch postponed, Sooryavanshi makers contemplate new release date

The coronavirus menace has frightened the entire world following its detection in China's Wuhan province. People are avoiding crowded areas for fear of contracting the disease. Its effects are also being seen in the developments in the Hindi film industry. 

The trailer of Kabir Khan’s much-awaited Ranveer Singh-starrer 83 (2020) was supposed to release on 11 March. However, the grand trailer launch event has now been postponed till further notice, according to our trade source. “The trailer launch has been postponed because of coronavirus. But there is no news about postponing the film’s release," said our source. 83 is scheduled to be released on 10 April. 

But that’s not all. There have been unconfirmed reports about the release of upcoming films like the Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi (2020) being postponed. The source told us that the producers of the film are contemplating postponing the film but haven’t decided on the same yet. 

“Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty and Reliance [produces of Sooryavanshi] have had a meeting regarding the release of the film. Right now they have decided to keep a watch at what happens with the box office collections of Baaghi 3. They are expected to take a decision soon,” said the source. 

The Tiger Shroff-starrer Baaghi 3 has performed much lower than what was expected from it, especially considering how the second film in the franchise became a blockbuster. It is believed that the coronavirus pandemic is one of the reasons why people have stayed away from the movie. 

“Baaghi 3 hasn’t scored the kind of numbers it should, although it has released in 25 to 30 percent more screens than Baaghi 2 (2018). There are people who are afraid to go out because of coronavirus,” added the source. 

Manoj Desai, owner of Mumbai’s iconic multiplex G7 and Maratha Mandir, agreed with it. He told us that his ploy of keeping more shows for Baaghi 3 hasn’t yielded the kind of results that was expected. On whether the fear of catching coronavirus is the reason, he said, “It’s true. Normally a lot of families visit us. That’s why I am showing Baaghi 3 in both Gaiety and Galaxy [two biggest screens in G 7] but they [families] have reduced in number. Yesterday was quite good as quite a few shows were full. But the shows aren’t constantly full, which is normally expected here.” 

With the coronavirus threat being far from over, some more developments might be in store in terms of the release of forthcoming films.