Comedy, drama, action,

Movie aficionados are in for a summer delight. From Hollywood treats like The Avengers and Madagascar 3 to Bollywood’s widely anticipated Jannat 2 and Rowdy Rathore, a heady mix of romance, drama, action and comedy await movie-goers this holiday season, reports IANS.

“This holiday season is flooded with fun Hollywood films. We are expecting a great response for our releases, said Asim Qureshi, CEO of Brand TV and Brand Cinema — exclusive marketer of Atrium Cinemas.

The summer movie season officially starts when The Avengers releases in Pakistan on May 11. The story revolves around Nick Fury, who is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency, according to imdb.com. The story builds up when global security is threatened and Fury and his team need all their powers to save the world from disaster.

Apart from that, Madagascar 3 will hit the screens June 8. Madagacar 3 narrates the story of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe, who fight to get home to their beloved New York. “Madagascar is one of the most loved franchises all over the world. The previous two films of this franchise have received tremendous response from people across all ages and this time also, we’re expecting the third one to be equally successful,” said Vikram Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer of Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Other Hollywood treats are Cindrella 3D, Men in Black 3, Brave (3D) and Chimpanzee (documentary).

However, the most widely anticipated movies to look out for this summer are The Dark Knight Rises and Ice Age: Continental Drift, both releasing in July. While The Dark Knight Rises will release worldwide on July 20, the Pakistani audience will see it a month later as the international release of the blockbuster coincides with Ramazan. Ice Age: Continental Drift, on the other hand, will release worldwide on July 13.

Summer fest in B-town

Meanwhile, Bollywood is not far behind. Although Qureshi insists that it be a dull affair as far as Bollywood is concerned, we believe there is hope of reviving that lacklustre pace this summer. “Sadly, Bollywood has been a dull affair since the beginning of the year. Although there are some interesting films releasing, they are nothing in comparison to the Hollywood blockbusters this summer,” adds Qureshi. The month of May will see films like Jannat 2, The Forest, Dangerous Ishhq, Ishaqzaade and Department hitting the screens while June will see films like Rowdy Rathore, Shanghai, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, Gangs of Wasseypur and Teri Meri Kahaani entertaining the audience.

While a majority of Hollywood films releasing this holiday season target children, Bollywood barely has anything to offer them. “In the Indian film industry, there is no specific genre of children films because it is typical masala films that work here,” said Malhotra. However, Gaurav Verma, vice president, distribution, India, UTV Motion Pictures, says, “Bollywood films have universal appeal and don’t cater to a particular segment. “Hindi films have universal appeal and they are barely targeted towards a specific segment of audience. So it is a myth that films for children are not being made in India.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2012.