New Delhi, March 11 -- The Ramzan period, coupled with school and college examinations and the T20 World Cup, has hit the movie business hard with no new or high-profile releases for several weeks.

While the run-up to the Eid holiday is relatively dull every year in the Hindi-speaking belt, the southern movie industries usually offer some hope. However, the indefinite delay around Tamil actor Vijay's Jana Nayagan, coupled with the looming legislative elections in the state, has led to multiple producers deferring theatrical releases even as the Telugu industry throws up a dry run.

Moreover, the drought has extended well beyond reasonable timelines, even up north, with small and mid-budget releases such as Tu Yaa Main, Assi and O'Romeo p...