Hollywood franchises go big post Baahubali

Just when we thought that forthcoming Hindi releases could heave a sigh of relief after the Baahubali invasion, there’s another danger threatening B-town — Hollywood releases.

It’s a phase of intense, uninterrupted Hollywood invasion, beginning with Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, this week, which takes on the eagerly awaited Sachin Tendulkar biopic, Sachin: A Billion Dreams. Interestingly, both the films are being released in multiple Indian languages, besides Hindi and English.

The first week of June will see two Hollywood heavyweight movies, Baywatch and Wonder Woman, battle it out at the box office. Not only do they go up against each other, they’re also likely to deal a crushing blow to a cluster of Hindi movies. For the same weekend sees some rather interesting Hindi films make an appearance.

First up is Prawaal Raman’s subversive remake of British horror movie Oculus, titled Dobaara: See Your Evil. Then comes Sunaina Bhatnagar’s Dear Maya, which will see Manisha Koirala make a comeback, as well as the interestingly-cast Rajkummar Rao-Shruti Haasan rom-com Behen Hogi Teri.

Producer and chairperson of Central Bureau of Film Certification, Pahlaj Nihalani, describes this rush of releases as ‘suicidal’. “Not even one of these Hindi films will get proper theatres on June 2. Sachin: A Billion Dreams will be going strong in the second week,” he says. “If any shows of Sachin are terminated, they will be replaced by Baywatch and Wonder Woman. What happens to all the Hindi films is anyone’s guess.

But there’s more. The following Friday, June 9, will see Tom Cruise’s big summer blockbuster, The Mummy, get an Indian release in four Indian languages. And that goes up against Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon’s reincarnation saga, Raabta.

One can only wait and watch what movies come out on top.