Guwahati, May 4: Another award-winning Assamese film, Antareen, releasing tomorrow, stares at a fate similar to that of Local Kung Fu 2 - falling victim to the success of the big-budget Bahubali 2: The Conclusion, which shows no signs of relenting.
According to Manabendra Adhikari, the producer of Antareen, he has got bookings from only 10 cinemas out of 40 theatres in Assam with Bahubali 2 still ruling the screens.
Antareen has bagged the best film award in Indian Cine Festival in 2015, best film award in Prag Cine Awards, special jury mention award in North East Film Festival in Itanagar last year and best film award at the India Habitat Film Festival.
The film has got bookings at Vandana, Gold Cinema at ASTC, Narengi, Biswanath Chariali, Chhaygaon (all in Guwahati), Gold Cinema in Golaghat, Jonaki Cinema in Tezpur, Bhaskarjyoti Cinema in Sivasagar, Krishna Talkies in Nagaon and Jyotshna Cinema in Dibrugarh.
However, the movie, which will be released through UFO Moviez India Limited, has got bookings for only afternoon shows in most of these theatres while Krishna Talkies, Nagaon, is yet to confirm the show timings. UFO Moviez India Limited is India's largest digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform.
Adhikari said audiences prefer to go to movies in the evening. "The afternoon slot is going to be another impediment in the movie's success," he said.
"Now, I will be happy even if Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh is realised. Till now, I have spent about Rs 50 lakh in making the film. Besides, we have also been carrying out a good promotional drive across Assam for the past few days. The only option left with us was to defer the release, which I have discussed with the distributors several times. But they could not help me, except assuring that we will get seven more theatres from next week and the show timings will also be changed," Adhikari said.
Talking to The Telegraph, director of the movie Monjul Barua said the entire production team has fought to get proper timing slots for the past one week, but did not receive any favourable response from the cinema owners. "All hall owners said Bahubali 2 was running successfully in the theatres. We are not demanding all the shows for our film. We have just requested for one prime-time slot, which too we could not secure," Barua said.
"When we moved for bookings, the distributors assured that Antareen would release in all the 40 theatres of Assam. But in the past few days, they broke their promise citing Bahubali 2 as a factor. We have already made payments for 40 cinemas but could not get desired service even in one," Barua said.
Reacting to the problem, Junmoni Devi Khaund, president of the Producers' Association of Assam, said such adverse situations arise repeatedly because of lack of unity among the members of the film fraternity in the state.
"We have no unity, so we cannot force the government to formulate a proper regulation for Assamese films," Khaund said.
Arun Nath, who plays a major role in the film, alleged that the Assamese people, including hall owners and distributors, rarely show solidarity with them.
