Posted:
Bollywood Friday wars to take on new dimension in 2013
There are only 52 Fridays in a calendar year and of course, the Big Daddies of Bollywood have been staking their claim to the most favourable ones ' for example, Eid, Diwali, Christmas, pre-Indian Premier League (IPL), post-IPL, etc ' well in advance, marking their territories, so to say. So, what happened this past Diwali ' when Ajay Devgn clashed with Shah Rukh Khan ' is likely to happen throughout 2013 as well.
The year has barely begun and the trade is already sitting back to watch the inevitable clashes that will occur on 'chosen' Fridays. Filmmaker Sajid Khan says, "Now, before you announce the start of your film's shoot, you must announce its release date. Like I announced on the day I began my shoot that Himmatwala would come on March 29."
Rakesh Roshan is coming on Diwali, November 1, with Krrish 3, Aamir Khan will bring Dhoom 3 on Christmas and Akshay Kumar had announced earlier that he will come on Ramzan Eid (August 8) withOnce Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again. "Till a few months ago, this was considered a healthy practice," says a leading film distributor, adding, "When a filmmaker announces his release date in advance, it makes it simpler for others to plan their release strategies."
Frankly, the distributor has not taken the superstar ego into account here. What is likely to happen is, instead of being good Samaritans and allowing their colleagues to get decent numbers at the box office, stars may decide to take each other on.
Currently, it seems like Salman Khan and his youngest brother Sohail Khan will take on Akshay and Milan Luthria on Ramzan-Eid. Rohit Shetty is likely to release his Chennai Express on October 11, the same day as Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram Leela. Sunny Deol's Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 will come on June 7, the same date as Prabhudheva's Ramaiya Vastavaiya that has newbies Girish Taurani and Shruti Haasan in the lead. Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer will clash with Rohan Sippy's Nautanki Saala. Subhash Ghai intends to take on Prakash Jha's Satyagraha ' it stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor ' with his film Kaanchi.
Rival film corporations have no qualms about taking on each other. So, ABCD Any Body Can Dance will come on February 8 with Special 26. Ironically, ABCD has Prabhudheva, the director of Rowdy Rathore (RR) in the lead role, while Special 26 has Akshay. On a normal day, Prabhu and Akki, who are very close, would never have thought of taking on each other at the box office. However, when it comes to zeroing in on that elusive Friday, all is fair in the box-office war. A trade paper reports that I, Me Aur Main... will take on The Attacks of 26/11 on March 1. Meanwhile, Akshay's Naam Hai Boss is expected to clash with Ranbir Kapoor's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Let's see who blinks first.
The year has barely begun and the trade is already sitting back to watch the inevitable clashes that will occur on 'chosen' Fridays. Filmmaker Sajid Khan says, "Now, before you announce the start of your film's shoot, you must announce its release date. Like I announced on the day I began my shoot that Himmatwala would come on March 29."
Rakesh Roshan is coming on Diwali, November 1, with Krrish 3, Aamir Khan will bring Dhoom 3 on Christmas and Akshay Kumar had announced earlier that he will come on Ramzan Eid (August 8) withOnce Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again. "Till a few months ago, this was considered a healthy practice," says a leading film distributor, adding, "When a filmmaker announces his release date in advance, it makes it simpler for others to plan their release strategies."
Frankly, the distributor has not taken the superstar ego into account here. What is likely to happen is, instead of being good Samaritans and allowing their colleagues to get decent numbers at the box office, stars may decide to take each other on.
Currently, it seems like Salman Khan and his youngest brother Sohail Khan will take on Akshay and Milan Luthria on Ramzan-Eid. Rohit Shetty is likely to release his Chennai Express on October 11, the same day as Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram Leela. Sunny Deol's Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 will come on June 7, the same date as Prabhudheva's Ramaiya Vastavaiya that has newbies Girish Taurani and Shruti Haasan in the lead. Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer will clash with Rohan Sippy's Nautanki Saala. Subhash Ghai intends to take on Prakash Jha's Satyagraha ' it stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor ' with his film Kaanchi.
Rival film corporations have no qualms about taking on each other. So, ABCD Any Body Can Dance will come on February 8 with Special 26. Ironically, ABCD has Prabhudheva, the director of Rowdy Rathore (RR) in the lead role, while Special 26 has Akshay. On a normal day, Prabhu and Akki, who are very close, would never have thought of taking on each other at the box office. However, when it comes to zeroing in on that elusive Friday, all is fair in the box-office war. A trade paper reports that I, Me Aur Main... will take on The Attacks of 26/11 on March 1. Meanwhile, Akshay's Naam Hai Boss is expected to clash with Ranbir Kapoor's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Let's see who blinks first.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Indian Premier League
20