Movie aficianados are in for a summer delight! From Hollywood treats just like the" Avengers" and "Madagascar 3" to Bollywood
potboilers like "Jannat 2" and "Rowdy Rathore", a heady mixture of romance, drama, action and comedy await movie-goers this
holiday season.
"We have gotten two of essentially the most eagerly awaited releases lined up. We're bringing Oscar winning film 'Hugo 3D' on popular demand to India in May and 'Madagascar 3' in June. We're expecting great response for our releases within the holiday season, " Vikram Malhotra, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures, told.
While "Hugo 3D" releases May 4, "Madagascar 3" (3D) will hit the screens June 8.
Set in 1930s Paris, the Oscar winning film "Hugo" tells the story of an orphan who lives throughout the walls of a train station and is wrapped in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton, while "Madagacar 3" narrates the tale of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo, and Melman the giraffe, who fight to get home to their beloved New York.
"'Madagascar 3' is likely one of the most loved franchises. The former two films of this franchise have received tremendous response from people across every age and we're expecting the third one to be equally successful, " Malhotra said.
"'Hugo 3D' can have limited but loyal audience. There's a lot of curiosity among people for this film, " he added.
"The Avengers" is another big Hollywood release this summer. Distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, the film goes to hit 800 Indian screens, a record collection of screens for any Hollywood film in India to this point. It's also dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
The film starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth, was directed by Joss Whedon.
"'The Avengers' is a superhero film and we're expecting a very good response after its release, more in order it's releasing first in India than within the US, " said Gaurav Verma, vice president, distribution, India, UTV Motion Pictures.
"We expect an even viewership because the film is releasing in four different languages, which in turn expands the reach too. Other Hollywood films lined up for release this summer are 'Spider Man' and 'Batman', " he added.
Apart from "Hugo" and "Madagascar 3", other Hollywood treats are "Cindrella 3D", "Men in Black 3", "Brave (3D)" and "Chimpanzee (documentary)".
Bollywood isn't far behind. The month of May will see films like "Jannat 2", "The Forest", "Dangerous Ishhq", "Ishaqzaade" and "Department" hitting the screens, June will see films like "Rowdy Rathore", "Shanghai", "Ferrari Ki Sawaari", "Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Teri Meri Kahaani" entertaining the audience.
"The line up of Bollywood films this summer are very interesting. There are films like 'Rowdy Rathore', 'Ishaqzaade' and 'Department' hitting the screens. Our big Bollywood release this summer is 'Rowdy Rathore' with Akshay Kumar and now we have huge expectations from it too, " said Verma.
While a majority of Hollywood films releasing this holiday season target children, Bollywood barely has anything to supply them.
"In Hindi film industry, there's no specific genre of youngsters films as it is typical masala films that work here. Children films here are of lowest common denomination, " said Malhotra.
However, Verma says Bollywood films have universal appeal and do not cater to a specific segment.
"Hindi films have universal appeal and they're barely targeted towards a particular segment of audience. So this is a myth that films for children aren't being made in India, " he added.
