PESHAWAR: Bollywood star Katrina Kaif has returned to big screen after more than a year with the release of Sooryavanshi that has collected a ‘record’ Rs30 crore on the first day of release on Divali.
The Indian film industry hopes that the decrease in Covid-19 cases will bring people back to the cinema.
Sooryavanshi, starring four major actors – Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh and Akshay Kumar – is the first film to be released in cinemas since March 2020. All entertainment venues were shutdown in India and most of films were released on streaming platforms as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney. According to the French news agency AFP, cinema owners in India are trying to re-attract moviegoers infected and keep them away from the growing online streaming services.
Read more:
Covid-19: the uncertain future of Pashto film industry
Hit hard by pandemic, cinema owners seek govt support to revive film industry
Peshawar artists yearn for gallery to showcase their artwork
Directed by Rohit Shetty, the film will star Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles, besides Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn. Sooryavanshi has been released simultaneously on more than 1,300 screens abroad in North America, some European countries, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, France, Germany and Spain.
“It was difficult to release the film in cinemas. But we are confident that the audience will return to the theaters,” Shibasish Sarkar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance India and the producers of Sooryavanshi told media. He said that there are some films that cannot be watch at home.
Sooryavanshi is a dance and action-packed Bollywood film released on Friday [5 November], a day after Diwali – the traditional big box office day in India. The film was supposed to be released in March 2020. However, due to the rising number of cases of Covid-19 cases in India, the cinema houses across India were closed down.
After the significant decline in Covid-19 cases and massive vaccination, the state of Maharashtra has opened cinemas with some restrictions just two weeks ago. According to Reuters that state alone generate 30% of box office revenue.