The current nerve-fraying cricket series between archrivals India and Pakistan may be firing up the fans on both
sides of the border but for Bollywood it has ushered in a prolonged cinema drought.

Bowing to the inevitable and acknowledging cricket has a far greater audience than films, most producers have postponed the release dates till the completion of the series on April 17.

"Cricket is like a religion in India," says Nestor D'Souza, president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association of India, the body representing film exhibitors.

"The stakes are high if India and Pakistan are playing. Be it old men, young men, children or even housewives -- they all watch the games. No producer likes to risk releasing his film when two rivals are clashing on the cricket ground."

With each team having won two games apiece, the five-match one-day series will reach a climax in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore on Wednesday (March 24) when the decider is played.

Thereafter,three five-day test matches will begin. The tour marks the first time in almost 15 years that a full series between the two countries is being staged.

With the matches all producing cliff-hangers, millions of cricket fans have been sitting at home absorbed by the world's current most-watched cricket series rather than venturing out to watch the latest big screen offerings.

"India and Pakistan rarely play cricket against each other," says producer Nitin Keni, who produced Gadar-Ek Prem Katha.

"The two are playing a full tour in Pakistan after a gap of 15 years. These are very rare moments of history so people prefer to sit at home and watch cricket than go to a movie. Look at the way the one-day series has gone. Each match is no less than a Bollywood thriller. Everybody is chewing their nails as each match is a photo finish -- live and more interesting than a Bollywood film," he adds.

Key film releases that have been postponed so far are Main Hoon Na, Bewafa, Uff Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai, Run and Lakeer.

"Producers have always released their films after cricket series as they know they wont get the audience. This has been specially the case during he World Cup matches and India-Pakistan cricket clashes," says Komal Nahata, a noted film analyst and editor of Film Information, a Bollywood weekly. "Bollywood has a record of releasing at least two films per week. But in the last 15 days not a single film has been released in the industry," he adds.

The situation is clearly reflected at the box office. The four-week old cop flick Ab Tak Chappan continues to reign on top due to lack of competition.

Nahata says the only big budget film that is seen releasing during the cricket series is Masti. Nahata says some producers may take a chance with small-budget films, as they would prefer not to clash their releases with big banners later. "You can say those producers are just trying their luck by releasing their films when cricket fever is on in the country," he adds.

"Cricket will reign supreme for sometime and not Bollywood," feels Keni.

AFP