Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘RRR’ to be postponed over COVID-19 fears?
Pan-India film, directed by SS Rajamouli, is slated to release in cinemas on January 7
The fear of the Omicron variant has struck the entertainment business in India once again with rumours abound that the much-anticipated ‘RRR’, directed by SS Rajamouli, will probably be postponed yet again as several states across the country introduce restrictions following the spike in COVID-19 cases.
Telugu film ‘RRR’, which stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the lead, along with Bollywood stars Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt, is scheduled to roll out globally on January 7 across different languages, including Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. However, many industry insiders are now saying this is highly unlikely keeping the current scenario in mind, with an announcement to the same almost imminent.
However, another source, quoted by entertainment portal Koimoi, reiterates the movie will go ahead as planned due to the constraints placed upon it, despite other studios hitting pause to their movie outings, including the makers of Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Jersey’, which has been postponed indefinitely on account of the rise in COVID-19 cases.
“SS Rajamouli and the team of ‘RRR’ had requested multiple film producers – from Bheemla Nayak to F3 and Sarkaru Vaari Paata – to delay their release to make way for ‘RRR’,” a trade source was quoted as saying. “The team was of the belief that a film made on a budget as huge as ‘RRR’ wanted to make the most during the festive season of Pongal and Sankranti [celebrated in January]. All the producers were gracious enough to delay the film to make way for ‘RRR’. The producers of all films announced their new release dates too and planned their schedules as per the new dates. ‘RRR’ is the only film to release in [the Indian states of] Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on January 7.”
The source also added that now, if the ‘RRR’ team delayed the release once again, there is a huge possibility a solo release in its home state again would be impossible. “It would be unfair on the producers of other films if ‘RRR’ is delayed now. The Andhra Pradesh – Telangana market is completely functional. The government there too resolved the ongoing ticket rate issues for ‘RRR’ to ensure a grand release on January 7.”
The period movie is a fictional story about two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, who fought against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad respectively.
All eyes are on ‘RRR’ as the future of other big-ticket films hang in the balance, including the Prabhas-starrer ‘Radhe Shyam’, Ajith’s action film ‘Valimai’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Prithviraj’.
While ‘Radhe Shyam’ is also primarily a Telugu film with a dubbed Hindi version, Tamil film ‘Valimai’ will also see a Hindi release.