Sometimes you don’t know what to write because you have too much to tell. That is the case with this column today, because that is the case with the number of movies releasing each Friday. 2016 has brought in this trend of releasing innumerable films on the same day. Ever imagined the plight of reviewers? Movie lovers? Fans? The answer is a big No. Please listen up dear film fraternity! 

Diwali, Pongal, Tamil New Years’, summer vacation, English New Years and such festive holidays used to be the major time for film releases of big stars which churn out a massive box office number. That was the time we saw maximum 2 clashes, mainly the Rajini-Kamal or Ajith-Vijay combo. Do you remember getting ready to go to the theatre? Gobbling up the sweets soon? Trying to still catch a Thalaivar padam on TV, fight with your cousins for our favorite hero, watching a new film with your family in the theatre, sharing popcorn? That was easily one of the best times of our lives, mainly because the choices were less and quality was more.

There was even a chance we did a back-to-back film marathon. Is that even possible now? Because there are at least 4 films releasing per week. And if we include Hindi, English, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam, we might have to live in the theatres to catch them all. Why such a movie craze one may ask. But if you are in the media and your job is to review, analyse and work in/for films, this tends to bother you. Does anybody ever think about the plight of reviewers?

The Pongal festive madness this year was the perfect example for this. Bala’s Tharai Thappattai, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Gethu, Vishal’s Kathakali and Sivakarthikeyan’s Rajini Murugan released on the eve of the Pongal weekend. Review writers, video reviewers, film critics were in a dilemma as to which film to watch first and how to publish the review/rating before the others did. The competition was endless. This makes me wonder about why producers harp on a specific release date even if it does no good to their film’s business.

And what is the status of small budget films? Azhagu Kutty Chellam was a sweet story which released on New Years’ Day. Unfortunately, smaller films like these don’t get enough screens or promotional space, making them vanish in a glance.

Good films don’t get good openings anymore because by the time one realizes that through word of mouth, there are another set of 4 films that release the following weekend. Something similar happened to me, I wanted to watch Rajini Murugan, as I have heard from a million others that the film is irresistibly funny and relaxing. But hey! Since its release on Pongal, I have been trying to catch it, but in vain as so many other films just keep coming up every Friday that I have to review at least 2 of them, invariably missing Rajini Murugan. Oh how did I miss the other language films that I watch? Sometimes during interviews, I need to put up a sad face when an actor asks me whether I could catch his earlier film. This makes it even more difficult for me.

Director Vetri Maaran recently said “If a film runs successfully for 10 days itself, it is a big thing”. This mantra holds true now. 100 day celebrations have become a thing of the past, now it is more like a 10th day Success Party as the movie is declared a hit within that time itself.

Why can’t they try a solo release one may ask?! A strategy where even if there is no festival around the chosen release date, the film tends to get a good opening, if there is a good story that is backed up by decent promotions.

Fortunately, some distributors and producers have cleverly pushed their release dates, thanks to the clash. An example is Vijay Sethupathi’s Sethupathy  in February and Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum in March. A wise decision by the team, as multiple releases will only make even a great film fail.

This Valentine, ‘Fault in our Stars’ and ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya’ are having a re-release. For all the singles and the couples, this might be a romantic date night plan, but again, this only cuts down those screens for the newly released movies.

Also can someone please calculate the amount of money one has to spend on tickets, cold coffee and butter popcorn? How much only can a person spend on movies? Is this really helpful for the audience? Neither do the producers make money nor are the audience satisfied after spending 120 bucks. 

To top it all off, it is also expected that Suriya’s 24 and Vijay’s Theri will strike on Tamil New Years’. Will I have to choose between my favorite stars again? Here arrives confusion, I will have no solution to.