India's defeat against Australia in the World Cup has ignited optimism in the film industry.

Bollywood is no longer nervous about cricket fever.

Raveena Tandon, who is holidaying in Sri Lanka with her parents, is sanguine about her first production Stumped. "The distributors have asked me to push the release from February 28 to March 7. They want Stumped to release after India plays Pakistan [on March 1]. Given a choice I would have released the film now. Cricket is no longer a threat to films. It never was. Give the audience a good film. They will see it no matter whatever the other temptations."

Theatres in small North Indian cities, hired to screen the World Cup, have recorded a sharp decline in attendance from Monday, February 17. On the other hand, films have benefited by the public disillusionment with the Indian team.

Several filmmakers who postponed their releases to after the World Cup are busy advancing their projects. The two beneficiaries of the anti-cricket wave that has hit the country are producers Boney Kapoor and Raj Babbar, whose Khushi and Kaash…Aap Hamare Hote have recorded a steep incline in attendance.

"Things are certainly looking better for us than they did last week," says Boney Kapoor.

Bihar exhibitor Roshan Singh, who planned to withdraw Khushi from his theatre, has changed his mind. "There is a sudden reversal in the film's fortunes. From about 50 per cent, the attendance has gone up to 95 per cent."

Raj Babbar's launchpad for his daughter Juhi, Kaash…Aap Hamare Hote, which opened to average audiences, has also picked up momentum at the box-office especially in North Indian cities, where the producer and his daughter have campaigned for their project.

Raveena is most reassured by this turn of events. "Stumped shows how insensitive a cricket-obsessed nation becomes. My character waits for her husband to return from the Kargil war. Everyone in the building is glued to television watching the World Cup series. When I receive news that my husband has been killed in action, my neighbours whoop with delight at the cricket match. Nowhere in the world does everything come to a standstill during a cricket tournament like it does in India. We attach far too much importance to the game. That is why we feel so betrayed by our cricketers when in fact winning and losing isn't entirely in their hands."