Film exhibitors urge Salman Khan to release 'Radhe' in theatres on Eid, say 'cannot be a better Eidi for us'

Amid unconfirmed reports that Salman Khan has sold the satellite, theatrical, digital and music rights of his upcoming 'Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai' for a whopping sum of Rs 230 crore to Zee Studios, cinema hall owners associations have written to the superstar requesting him to release the film only in theatres on Eid 2021.

Shared by the exhibitors on Saturday, the letter urged Salman to help the cinema hall sector during its time of struggle amid the ongoing Covid pandemic.

The letter is signed by exhibitors associations from different parts of the country including Uttarakhand, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan Bihar, Telangana, Delhi, Dehradun and Hyderabad.

Exhibitors believe that the film will be a mass entertainer like most of Salman's Eid releases. The film can be expected to pull the audience into theatres, especially during a festival like Eid, and aid the struggling exhibition industry that has suffered huge losses during the ongoing pandemic.

The letter reads, "Dear Mr Salman Khan, Hope this letter finds you well. As you are aware, 2020 has been a rough year for millions of people across the country and the ones associated with India's film exhibition sector havent been an exception. Over the last 10 months, hundreds of single screen/independent cinemas have pulled down their shutters permanently and this has resulted in the loss of livelihood for lakhs of people who were employed by them directly and indirectly.

Films are to theatres what fuel is to a car. Without a constant supply of content that is relevant to its audience, running a cinema hall is close to impossible. For over a decade now, your films have played an important role in bringing audiences to single-screen cinemas, which are otherwise starved for content that caters to the sensibilities of people who patronise them.

Your film Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai is among the few that are capable of resurrecting the fortunes of independent/single-screen cinemas across the country. A film like that, if released widely, can give not just financial support and relief but also a ray of hope to owners and employees of theatres in the context of their future. We request you to plan the film's release at every cinema in the country on Eid 2021 as there cannot be a better Eidi than that for us film exhibitors and more importantly for millions of your fans whom we cannot wait to welcome back at the theatres.

Till date not even a single case of people contracting Covid-19 has been traced back to a cinema hall anywhere in the world and we are confident of keeping your fans safe by following comprehensive protocols and guidelines that have been issued by the concerned authorities.

May 2021 bring lots of happiness, love and prosperity to you and your family. In anticipation of your support and on behalf of lakhs of Indians who make a living by working at and for cinema halls," the letter concluded.

Earlier, on the occasion of his birthday, while answering a question on the release date of his upcoming film 'Radhe', Salman had said, "It will be released at an appropriate time when everything will go back to normal. It will be released at a time when everyone will start going back to the theatres with little risk of virus."

"We will release Radhe on Eid if everything will go back to normal. But the movie is less important; the safety and health of moviegoers is the most important thing. The release of Radhe can wait," he said.

(With inputs from IANS)