Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; October 29, 2015)
A clash of titanic proportions is inevitable as Salman Khan’s Sultan and Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees go head-to-head on Eid next year. Both actors are superstars, the films are big budget entertainers with strong storylines and releasing on the same day would only serve to divide audiences and screens. As such, a situation like this would cut into each other’s profits and one would expect either of the two to back down and avoid the confrontation.
But it’s not going to happen. Ask Farhan Akhtar (he’s producing Raees) if it’s a wise decision to release a SRK film alongside a Salman flick and he murmurs, “That has happened in the past when there have been two big releases on the same day and both of them have done well. So this depends on the audience. We leave it to them to decide. The fact is when you make a film and you want to release it on a certain date, you have the right to.”
But will the business not get divided? “I would rather hope that both of them will have enough followers and admirers to watch both the films.” Farhan adds, “If you are making a good film, it will work no matter which film it’s clashing with. And if both Raees and Sultan turn out to be good films, both will do equally well at the box office.”
Still, given a chance, would Farhan like to shift the release dates? Pat comes the reply, “I don’t see the reason why I need to do that, honestly!” So as it still stands, it’s Raees vs Sultan next July!