The idea of stardom in the bollywood industry is such that it attracts lakhs of budding actors to go to the dream city of Mumbai to pursue their dream of acting– this dream of acting begins watching likes of Shah Rukh Khan romancing the heroine or Salman Khan beating the very evil out of an evil (heroic, isn’t it!).
The real battle though is what follows next. Once you’ve established yourself in the industry as an actor, slowly the pressure of movie budgets and the expectation of profit in return starts to take a toll on the actors, many of whom succumb to it and their careers see the dawn before any dusk – the industry really isn’t welcoming to all but to whom that it is; even for them the journey isn’t easy.
Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are two such actors who’ve been showered by love of the Bollywood fans all across the globe, not only is their popularity immensely huge but it’s immensely loyal – every movie of theirs irrespective of the script, which may be good or it may not; the fans of these 2 starts still rush to the cinema halls and the collections thus begin to reach huge marks of 100cr, 200cr, 300cr and even 400cr in gross.
The two actors have had their fair share of controversies separately and with one another but the recent past has only seen them appreciating one another which is truly a good indication considering that coming EID – the two have got a few things in their hands to sort out, primarily the release date of their upcoming films Raees for SRK and Sultan for Salman Khan.
The debate surrounding the two films has been around for a year now.
While it’s in the best interest of the fans that the two movies release separately, the two productions houses however just aren’t willing.
Raees is produced by Red Chilli and Excel entertainment, while Sultan is produced by Yash Raj Films.
Shah Rukh Khan was heard saying during the promotion of Fan that as the release date approaches for Raees, he’ll be willing to sit along with both the production house – with him having close relations with Aditya Chopra, who produced Fan which indicates that perhaps SRK too wants to come to some sort of a compromise from either of the two sides.
Salman has previously had big hits – Wanted, Dabangg, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger and Kick – as Eid releases
Looking at the situation objectively from Salman’s end, EID is a public holiday which usually is reserved for Salman Khan – with him having big hits like Wanted, Dabangg, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger and Kick, it’s really fair to say that Salman Khan reserving this date for his next movie is absolutely justified but the clash with SRK’s film means that both the movies will suffer and unless a compromise is met, the profit earned for the production houses can see a drastic bearish trend.
Shahrukh Khan has given one major hit in last 5 years – Chennai Express – which was released on Eid
Considering the case from SRK’s side, he hasn’t had a great last few years in terms of commercial as well as critical success. Films like Ra One, Dilwale, Happy New Year have all bombed at the box office – neither did they earn much nor did the critics seem to like them. Fan to some extend was lauded by the critics but the commercial failure makes it an average film, quite contrary to SRK’s usual standards. SRK’s only hit in the last 5 years in terms of commercial success has been the huge blockbuster in Chennai Express which earned over Rs200 CR and it was released on EID – which is possibly why SRK has been gunning to release Raees on the very same day.
It’s fair to say that both the production houses need to see this objectively and get some perspective – if Raees and Sultan release together, there are ought to be drawbacks to both the sides and hence a compromise is the only way to go. Not only does a release on the same date from these 2 megastars hurt the box office collections but it means that the “FAN” is left in the dilemma to choose between 2 of their favorite stars and who wants that! The two production houses must find a middle path and see what can be done to avoid such a situation.