Sticking to a time schedule is perhaps an anathema to film industry. The biggest casualty while making films is always time sense.

If a shooting is scheduled to start at 7.00 a.m., things begin to happen from only around 10.00 a.m. If a film party is set to begin at 7.30 p.m., you must interpret that it to be 9.00 p.m.

Time, like in Hindu philosophy, is timeless in Tollywood.

And so it is little surprise that some of the most awaited releases this season is getting postponed or delayed for some reason or the other.

Gharsana, the encounter cop film with Venkatesh in the lead, is already behind schedule. The much-expected gritty action flick is now due to hit the theatres only in July (if it had been on time, then it should have been in cinema halls by now).

The other heavyweight film of the season, Sri Anjaneyam, directed by the hotshot Krishna Vamsi and starring Nitin and Charmi, has been postponed by two weeks. This delay is due to some production hassles (The film is said to have lot of eye-boggling graphics work and that is causing some time lapse).

Sri Anajaneyam, whose audio is already doing very well in the market, may get to see the light (or is its darkness?) of the theatres in July second week.

And now the news is that Shankardada MBBS, the Chirnajeevi starrer and the remake of Hindi hit Munnabhai MBBS, is all set face some delay. For one, the hero Chiru is reported to be undergoing some treatment (in London) for his bad back. There are also reports that he is not happy with the producers of the film and hence has gone into a silent sulk and cancelled the shooting.

So the film, slated for release in July, may be out only in August.

Further, the film that is set for release today (June 25) Bhadradi Ramudu, starring Taraka Ratna, has already seen several delays.

The point is that it is not the actors or technicians (who are usually the reason for the delays) are not hit by the postponements. The producers and distributors, who usually borrow money at exorbitant rates and invest in the films, bear the brunt of such time loss.

Apart from muttering a few words off the record, they cannot even say anything against the star-crossed heroes and heroines. "I have lost several crores of rupees just because a top hero kept dragging his feet over my film," says a hurt producer whose film was released recently after inordinate delay.

At a time when the industry is facing a crisis, the artistes may do well to have some time sense in their system.

To start with, that will make a lot of sense.