According to reports, Sooryavanshi, the much awaited film starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina kaif in the lead, might not be able to release on April 30, as scheduled. The reason behind the postponement is due to the rising COVID-19 cases.
Sooryavanshi is directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Picturez, Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films. The movie stars Akshay Kumar as Anti-Terrorism Squad chief DCP Veer Sooryavanshi opposite Katrina Kaif with supporting cast of Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, Abhimanyu Singh, Niharica Raizada, Vivan Bhatena, Sikandar Kher, Nikitin Dheer and Javed Jaffrey. Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh in extended cameo appearances reprise their roles of Singham and Simmba from the franchise’s previous films.
The second COVID wave has been quite extreme and cases in Maharashtra especially are at a record high, the state government last week decided to impose a night curfew in the state, leading to a lockdown-like situation till April 30.
It has become quite clear that releasing a film in such circumstances would be suicidal.
A source claims, “It was given even last week that Sooryavanshi won’t release as scheduled. The lockdown has further made it clear. It will be in place till April 30, the day Sooryavanshi was supposed to release. And there’s no guarantee that the lockdown won’t be extended, especially if cases haven’t reduced. Meanwhile, the other states might also follow Maharashtra’s example and introduce curbs. Sooryavanshi is a big film and it’ll be suicidal if it releases in such unpredictable circumstances. Hence, it stands postponed.”
The postponement of Sooryavanshi will be a huge blow for cinema fans, exhibitors and the industry at large. Sooryavanshi was initially slated to release on March 24, 2020 and since then, the release dates are getting postponed.