Earlier this year in September, when it was announced that the theatres in Maharashtra were opening from October 22, all the filmmakers announced the release dates of their impending and new films, one after the other, blocking the available weekends. The first three days after the announcement were too hectic and while the cinema lover in me was really excited to go back to theatres, there was a skepicism about what the shelf life of these films would be considering there were big releases being announced for every Friday. I was also scared that a lot of films’ releases would have to be pushed due to unavoidable clashes, and seems like it has started.

According to a report in Pinkvilla, Kangana Ranaut’s Dhaakad, which was recently announced to release on 8 April, 2022, has now been reportedly pushed by a month. It will now be arriving on 20 May 2022.

A source close to the development said that due to a lot of competition from big releases in the month of May, the makers have decided to steer away from that month so as to give Dhaakad the best chance to perform at the box office. There was no direct clash happening with Dhaakad on 8 April, but Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chadha and Yash’s KGF: Chapter 2 are also releasing in April only.

Dhaakad will see Kangana in a new avatar as the actress will be seen as agent Agni in India’s first female-led action thriller. She has previously shared many glimpses of her look from the film and they had created a lot of curiosity amongst the audience. The film also features Arjun Rampal in a pivotal role and Divya Dutta as the antagonist. It is helmed by Razneesh Ghai.

It’s going to be a busy year at the box office in 2022 with so many releases lined up almost every Friday, and while the cinemaholic inside me is jumping with joy on that prospect, I also wonder how many of them would get to enjoy a long screen time in this crowd, that they would have got to in normal circumstances. It’s just a game of waiting and watching now.