Amid the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, Maddock Films cancelled the theatrical release of its latest film Bhool Chuk Maaf on Thursday, and chose to release it on OTT. PVR has now reportedly sued the production house for cancelling the release of the film just one day before its scheduled release for Rs 60 crore, also citing “non-playability” of the film as a reason.
While the makers of the filmcited the “heightened security drills across the nation” as the reason for cancelling the film, PVR CEO Kamal Gianchandani told News9Live that this last-moment decision has caused them considerable financial losses. Trade expert Komal Nahta posted on his X account, saying, “According to PVR-Inox, Maddock suddenly cancelled the film’s release (on 9th May) from cinemas on account of poor advance booking.”
On May 8, Maddock Films issued a statement saying, “In light of recent events and the heightened security drills across the nation, we at Maddock Films and Amazon MGM Studios have decided to bring our family entertainer, Bhool Chuk Maaf, directly to your homes on May 16–only on Prime Video, worldwide. While we were eagerly looking forward to celebrating this film with you in theatres, the spirit of the nation comes first. Jai Hind.”
Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, a source reported, “Maddock probably must have added the ‘force majeure’ clause, which refers to an unforeseen event or circumstance, like a natural disaster or war, that prevents a party from fulfilling their contractual obligations. Hence, they might have an edge. But PVR can always argue that the makers could have released the film in cinemas after a few weeks or a month if they felt that the footfalls would be impacted. Going directly on OTT is what angered them and also other exhibitors. Also, the idea behind the legal action is probably to ensure that no other producer attempts to adopt the same strategy.”
Directed by Karan Sharma and produced by Dinesh Vijan, the movie stars Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Zakir Hussain, Raghubir Yadav and Ishtiyak Khan, among others.