The Akshay Kumar starrer Bell Bottom directed by Ranjit Tiwari(whose 2017 prison-break drama Lucknow Central blushed unseen) now faces further delay in its inordinately delayed release. Akshay Kumar had happily announced his trendy espionage period film’s release for July 27,2021. By then movie theatres were expected to re-open.
But with the second wave of the Covid pandemic still on and the third wave looming large over the country, it seems unlikely that movie theatres would open this month or even in August.
“The postponement(of Bell Bottom) seemed inevitable. There is no possibility of movie theatres re-opening in July and August. The producers have two options. They can wait indefinitely or opt for an exclusive OTT release,” a source close to the project informs, adding that the producers are now “seriously considering” the OTT option.
“How long can they wait? Even if movie theatres were allowed to open how many people would actually opt to see films even with the top stars in movie theatres?” a source close to another long-in-the-waiting biggie Sooryavanshi wonders aloud.
In America it is different. The populace , largely innoculated and defiantly unmasked , is making a beeline for the movie theatres screening F9(the 9th film in the Fast & Furious franchise), Cruella and Black Widow.