‘Salaar’ leaves Sankranti biggies in a spot

Even though an official confirmation from the makers is awaited, it is almost clear that Prabhas’ much-anticipated tentpole film Salaar will not be hitting the screens on September 28th as announced earlier. The reason behind this unexpected postponement is that director Prashanth Neel is not happy with the CG work of some of the key scenes and wants the team to rework those effects. 

A mammoth film like Salaar, which is carrying massive expectations and a lot of money riding on it, would now need an ideal date of release to ensure that the box office openings are not impacted. So, the only option left for the makers is to release the film for Sankranti. Reportedly, the team is planning to lock January 10th as the release date. 

If Salaar moves to Sankranti, other Tollywood biggies might need to reconsider their release plans. Already films like Guntur Kaaram, Naa Saami Ranga and Hanu-Man have locked Sankranthi slots. Vijay Devarakonda’s film with Parasuram is also in the race. So, the postponement of Salaar is likely to scuttle the plans of all these films. 

A big festival season like Sankranti can accommodate a couple of big-ticket films and a couple of medium-budget films. But, it is unsure if the makers of Guntur Kaaram and Naa Saami Ranga will take the gamble and go ahead with their release plans to clash with Salaar. A couple of other films might also backtrack if Salaar arrives in January. 

As of now, a lot of uncertainty has shrouded the trade circles regarding the release date of many upcoming films. It seems like an official announcement from Salaar team can only end this confusion.