Will ' Master' see a Diwali release?

Much talk is circulating in the trade circles of Chennai film world about the fate of new releases in the months ahead. The top of the pops is of course 'Master', which is having various expectation levels among the public, chiefly the vast legion of Thalapathy Vijay fans.

If Eid is the fixed slot for Salman Khan releases as it gives his flick a great festival high and torrential collections at the cash counters, Sankranti and Dussehra have been the preferred release windows for big guns of Telugu cinema. Likewise, in Tamil Nadu too Pongal and Diwali are much sought after by the top guns who have successfully milked the festival sentiment and holiday moods during these special days.

On the one hand, there is speculation that there would be an early release date announced for the Vijay starrer to cash in on the craze. Yet, one theory is floating around that since Diwali releases of the star have always turned out to be hits since 2017, the industry may be tempted to wait till then to let the post- Covid-19 muddle clear up better.

Sounds good on paper but the film folks know that it would be impossible to rein in the raging frenzy among the supporters of Vijay who see him as the number one in Tamil cinema now. His 2019 Diwali release ' Bigil' at around Rs 300 crore is already listed as the second largest in terms of box-office collections.