Rakesh Roshan breaks his silence on Raees's release strategy

While the internet is going ga-ga over Shah Rukh Khan's return as a 'bad man' in Raees, one person seems to be very displeased. In a recent report, Rakesh Roshan said the advancing of the release date of Khan's new film proves that the film's makers are following the same pattern as the Roshans.

The filmmaker said, "Whatever dates we are taking, they are following us. I would have never done the same. I belong to an old school of filmmaking and I have given 50 years of my life to the industry. I would never release my film on a day when another filmmaker has already announced his film." 

The Hrithik Roshan-Shah Rukh Khan clash at the box office has been one of the more public spats between the two heavyweights of Hindi cinema. Khan had met Rakesh Roshan in July to try and find a solution to avert the clash. However, it was Rakesh who decided to advance the film by a day, releasing it on 25 January, instead of its earlier 26 January date. 

In the report, Rakesh said, "I decided to remove Krrish 4 also from Christmas 2018 because I saw SRK's film is coming that day. I could have easily released my film with Befikre or even with Dangal if I had to clash. But when I announced the film in February, I saw a clean window in January and hence I picked the date. I can't get into this new groove of things because I don't understand it." 

The advancing of Khan's film does spell gloom for Sanjay Gupta's Kaabil. Both films are action-based and have major stars leading the cast. However, by the looks of the trailer, it would seem that Khan's film has the upper hand. 

Regardless, Rakesh Roshan is in no mood to change the dates again. He said, "It's a full-fledged release on 25 January and not just paid previews. Now that the other film is following my release date, it's up to my distributors to take a call — whether to release from 6 pm or right from the morning shows." 

Like they say, que sera sera, whatever will be will be.