It's a date: Seven films to release on September 19

As many as seven Bollywood films -- including Parineeti-Aditya Roy Kapur-starrer Daawat-e-Ishq, Sonam Kapoor's Khoobsurat, Anurag Kashyap's Ugly and Richa Chaddha-starrer Tamanchey -- will head to theatres on that day. Is that a healthy trend?

Over the weekend, Aditya Chopra’s production house decided to postpone their Aditya Roy Kapur- and

Parineeti Chopra

-starrer

Daawat-e-Ishq

by two weeks, to September 19. The news caused quite a stir, as it pushed the number of films now releasing on that date up to seven. Their decision to postpone was due to "the film’s promotion, which needs more time...". But this had left other producers fighting for space.



Watch Trailer: Daawat-e-Ishq is high on romance​

Making room

One project, titled 3 AM, postponed its release date because of the overcrowded box office weekend. However, six other films – Khoobsurat, starring Sonam Kapoor; Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly; Tamanchey, starring Richa Chaddha; Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami, starring Neha Dhupia and Anupam Kher; Balwinder Singh… Famous Ho Gaya, starring Shaan and Mika; and Roar, directed by yesteryear actor Kamal Sadanah – will still be fighting for screen space. We asked trade experts their take on it.

Genres galore

While exhibitor Akshaye Rathi thinks that the films might be able to co-exist. He says, “With Daawat getting postponed, multiple studios will be running to get the best shows for their films. Khoobsurat, too, is a prestigious project... But all the films cater to different audiences. The latter will be more metro-centric whereas the former will appeal to tier two-plus cities. The crowd craving an Anurag Kashyap film will also get their share.”

A source believes that a couple of production houses might try to push their release date. Abhinav Shukla, producer of Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami, tells us, “The date has become crowded. For us, it is a tentative date right now. We will meet with our distributor and decide the road ahead.”