With the ICC cricket world cup underway, it has sent shivers down the throats of film producers, directors, distributors and theatre-owners who are apprehensive of people’s ‘don’t care’ attitude towards films till the Cup ends on 2nd April.
Within a few days of the beginning of the Cup matches, many cinema halls across the length and breadth of the State have reported a sharp dip in counter ticket sales during matinee, evening and night shows, which are the major sources of income for the theatre-owners and distributors.
Director Mysskin’s Cheran-starrer ‘Yudhdham Sei’, which opened to a promising start a fortnight back, has been hit hard by the cricket fever, as hardly 50 people turned out to watch the film during the matinee show at a premier hall in the city. In the suburban areas, the Cup has taken its toll on the number of people turning out to watch the evening and night shows.
‘Payanam’, the hijack-thriller by Radha Mohan which has been made in a professional and enjoyable manner, drew less than 25 persons for the night show of the film at a famous hall in Vadapalani during India’s match against Bangladesh last weekend.
Cities like Coimbatore have taken prior permission to beam cricket matches live on the big screen to cash in on the cricket fever. For this reason, many major Tamil films have been put on hold to release after the World Cup, in the first week of April.
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