Can Dilwale ' Bajirao Mastani clash be averted?

Note: We won't be conducting a QnA session next Sunday, so the next one (after today's session) would be on December 20 i.e after the release of Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani.

Q. Is there still any chance of averting clash between Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani? - Danish Gani

A. Not anymore. If either of the two producers were keen on averting the clash, they would have done so by now. Theatres have been booked and with less than 12 days to go, the clash is on. Both Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani will release on 18th December.

Q. After Tamasha's Underperformance at the box office can we say Akshay and Ajay are now ahead of Ranbir Kapoor in terms of Stardom? - Ankit

A. As things stand today, Ranbir has fallen behind Varun Dhawan. Even Ranveer Singh could sneak ahead of him if Bajirao Mastani can stand up to the might of Dilwale. The big difference between stars like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and others like Ranbir Kapoor, is the fan-following that the veteran actors command at smaller centres. It takes years of hard work to gain following at mass centres and the audience in these centres are more faithful' to their stars - provided they do films that are more commercial. A film like Baby' won't garner any interest with Akshay's core fan base, but when he does Gabbar Is Back', they come in big numbers. So for stars like Akshay, Ajay, Salman and other superstars, it's more about balancing the genre to appeal to both masses and city audience.

At major cities, the so-called class' audience are more willing to wait for the response / word-of-mouth to be out, before booking tickets. If the trailer is not liked, even a Imtiaz Ali film starring Ranbir - Deepika doesn't get a good initial. Also, the word-of-mouth tends to spread faster at bigger cities, which is why there are noticeably drops in the first weekend itself - example Shaandaar, Besharam. Whereas a mass-appealing film can sustain over the weekend and even hold up during the weekdays - e.g Himmatwala.

Meanwhile, we will be updating the Top 15 Actors in India article very soon. It was last updated in August.

Q. In case of Dilwale - Bajirao Mastani clash, can footfalls lost during weekend be made up during the week? Assume Dilwale gets 3 idiots WOM and has potential for 350 cr. So shouldn't it get that amount even in clash, irrespective of how Bajirao Mastani does? Say 100 people would have watched Dilwale in solo release. Wouldn't the same 100 see Dilwale even in clash? If footfalls are not made up the mark, what's the reason? - KRK

A. Achieving 3 Idiots, PK, Bajrangi Bhaijaan word-of-mouth is a dream that very very few films achieve. Films that have been universally liked by every section of the audience are few and far in between. In recent times, most of those films have been directed by Rajkumar Hirani. So expecting Rohit Shetty to pull off a classic, that too from the kind of trailer that we have seen.. is a highly unrealistic expectation to have. Yes, Dilwale can be a wholesome entertainer and if the film is liked by the audience, it could make a huge impact on the business of Bajirao Mastani. As for footfalls, we have said this many times before, not everyone can afford to watch two movies in theatres, that too in the same weekend. So business will definitely be divided.

Also, Bajirao Mastani might be a smaller film in comparison, but it most certainly cannot be written off. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has suffered because of Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om in the past, so he would be well aware of the consequences. The fact that he is willing to take him on again, has given the trade a feeling that he is supremely confident of his product.