Can Akshay Kumar's 'Bellbottom' reboot Bollywood?

Can Akshay Kumar do a Vijay Or Ravi Teja Ever since the Bollywood superstar announced Bellbottom for a theatrical release on July 27 excitement is on the rise Fans as well as industry watchers have applauded the move The hope that pandemic practicalities permitting Akshays gesture will initiate the first step at box office normalcy for the Hindi film tradeThe trade after all has maintained for a while now that with vaccination in place and with the world cautiously opening up in the latest unlock phase all it would take for the Hindi film trade to get going once again is one big hit This in turn called for a film with the right entertainment quotient prerelease hype and most importantly a star who doesnt have to try too hard to draw the crowdsAkshays Bellbottom is a retro spy thriller set in the 80s is shot mostly in the UK mixes sleek espionage action with pop patriotism drama is reportedly based on a true story and costars Vaani Kapoor Huma Qureshi and Lara DuttaThe combo would seem instantly saleable an allout entertainer Bollywood hopes the film has the same impact that Ravi Tejas Krack did for the Telugu film industry and Vijays Master did for Tamil cinema in January when big screen trade down South made a brave attempt to get back to business even as the first bid to unlock cinemas happened this yearFor the record Krack made on a budget of around Rs 16 crore and released on January 9 managed over 60 crore in just about four weeks after taking in a first weekend collection of around Rs 23 croreThe release of Master coinciding with Makar Sankranti January 14 was an ambitious move with the film rumoured to be budgeted at around Rs 125135 crore Master did spectacularly despite pandemic protocol in theatres and the audience being wary to venture out The film grossed Rs 250 crore worldwide according to India TodayOf course subject to cinema halls opening a few other Hindi films were lined up for a theatrical release in July Before the second wave of Covid struck Shershaah starring Sidharth Malhotra was announced for July 2Ayushmann Khurrana was scheduled to return to theatres with Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui on July 9 as was the modestbudget comedy 14 Phere featuring Vikrant Massey and Kriti Kharbanda Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Alia Bhattstarrer Gangubai Kathiawadi was planned for release after Akshays Bellbottom on August 30None of the above films that were listed as possible releases in July 2021 have officially confirmed release as of now and no one in the trade wants to hazard a guess on whether these films will be pushed back again Perhaps the makers are apprehensive that theatrical business all over India might not open up sufficiently by the first half of July or even if it did the audience may not be convinced enough to venture into the hallsAt best halls might open by Julyend given the current situation to understand the immediate situation Maharashtra one of the most important domestic markets for Bollywood films recently said regular opening of cinemas would happen only in Level One zones while Level Two areas would see 50 per cent occupancyOn Akshays Bellbottom it is interesting to note the fact that July 27 his chosen date for release is a TuesdayWhich means Akshay and his battalion of producers Vashu and Jackky Bhagnani Deepshikha Deshmukh Monisha Advani Madhu Bhojwani and Nikkhil Advani have given themselves a threeday headstart This would be hoping to garner word of mouth over Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday before the actual weekend kicks in on Friday the 30th For a film like Bellbottom which is not a conventional mainstream entertainer a bit of buzz would seem just the right thing to go for in the time of ubercautious unlockAkshay currently has half a dozen films lined up Of these Bellbottom Sooryavanshi Atrangi Re and Prithiviraj were scheduled for a 2021 release Rumours suggesting Akshay is keen to release Sooryavanshi on Gandhi Jayanti have neither been confirmed nor denied Two other films of the superstar Bachchan Pandey and Ram Setu are slated for next year and Akshay has reportedly completed almost all shooting except Ram SetuA quick scan of that list tells you right away that Akshays focus with his releases this year and the next is interestingly on allout entertainmentSubject to pandemic realities if Bellbottom kickstarts the Bollywood theatrical trade on a positive note it would certainly give Akshay an advantage over the other superstars At a time when OTT has reaped rich in the absence of cinema business Akshays fellow superstar Salman Khan recently learnt the rough way with Radhe that the digital space doesnt care much about the power of traditional Bollywood superstardom Akshay himself would be aware too He had dropped Laxmii on OTT last year and the impact was far from blockbusterAlso Read Bellbottom producer Jackky Bhagnani Didnt require any extra effortThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for 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