Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show moved back to 2022 due to non-availability of cinema halls

Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show, which was looking for a theatrical release this month, has been postponed to next year due to non-availability of cinema halls in Gujarat.

The award-winning film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June this year.

The filmmaker said in a statement, “It’s indeed sad that exhibitors did not keep their promise of allotting screens to Chhello Show (Last Film Show). On our social media, we have been receiving hundreds of thousands of requests from audiences longing to see Chhello Show. International festival shows and awards have generated unprecedented buzz, but in the end exhibitors would rather show a big-budget Bollywood [commercial Hindi cinema] film.”

Once theatres began opening up in states across the country in August, many big-budget films that had been biding their time since last year began to announce their release dates in November and December. The long list of these big-budget films like 83 (2021), Jersey (2021) and Radhe Shyam (2022) has affected regional films and the number of screens they receive.

Chhello Show will be distributed in North America by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Producer Dheer Momaya said, “This has always been the state of affairs in India where non-studio movies are pushed aside by exhibitors. But we want to remain optimistic; because we are happy that now India will see the simultaneous release of Chhello Show (Last Film Show) with its American and international release in the year 2022. We should not forget that Chhello Show is the first-ever Indian movie to be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the USA, Shochiku in Japan and Medusa in Italy.

“Now we producers have time to match that in India,” Momaya added. “And very soon we will be announcing Chhello Show’s association with a huge 'Bollywood' production house. And together we will prepare for the best possible release in 2022.”

The Gujarati feature will have three gala shows next month at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival in California.