Shahid Kapoor's remake film may not be seen in 2020

The game of cricket has become a genre to be considered hot enough by film makers in recent times. The much-awaited film '1983' is an apt example. Across many film industries, there have been ventures made and released which placed the role of female players too prominently. One such film was 'Kausalya Krishnamurthy', a remake from the Tamil film 'Kanaa'. Over the years, we have had many in Hindi like 'Lagaan', released nearly two decades ago.

'Jersey', a Telugu film boldly took up the story of a rejected, middle-aged cricketer who wants to return to mainstream play and prove his capabilities all over again. The role was very well essayed by 'Natural Star' Nani and it turned out to be a noticeable success, earning double the investment of Rs 23 crore, when it hit the theatres in April 2019.

Shahid Kapoor, who is also a contemporary of Nani as part of the new millennium star set, is about to essay the role in Hindi, a project which is being directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri , presented by Karan Johar and bankrolled by Allu Aravind. It was progressing well, with a release timing of August 2020 when coronavirus halted its march.

As of now, with the other big one '1983' itself awaiting a release, building itself up on a hype for being a racy entertainer featuring our victory during the World Cup in that year, too many cricket films can divide audience attention. Even otherwise, with cinema theatres not attaining their peak draw and capacity to woo audiences, handicapped by strict government guidelines, one may not see the Shahid starrer hitting the silver screens anytime soon.

Of course, one cannot discount the OTT route for this film, which should be a watchable flick as the original had a lot of melodrama, family sentiment and the sport of cricket to keep the audience hooked. Shahid, who has already got a bigger market, pan-India, courtesy the hit remake of 'Arjun Reddy' can legitimately expect to further take a firm grip once this film sees the light of the day in the forthcoming months. Till then, this film, one of the 15-odd remakes to have been made from Telugu over the past two decades would hopefully hold on to its mystery component of what it would turn out to be as it aims to woo the young audiences all over India.