There is yet another addition to the list of box office clashes this year. The latest clash declared is one between Sunny Deol’s Bhaiyyaji Superhit and Salman Khan’s hugely awaited Tubelight. The makers of the Deol-starrer have decided to release their film during the Eid (25 June) week, a date already announced for the release of Tubelight.
The move has come as a huge surprise since Tubelight, which is directed by Kabir Khan, is expected to be a landslide hit.
This, however, is no reason for worry for Mahendra Dhariwal, producer of Bhaiyyaji Superhit.
Speaking to a daily, Dhariwal said, “We are in talks with distributors, who have warned us about Salman’s Tubelight. It's a fact that he is a superstar, but we too are confident of our film and so, it doesn’t matter whoever comes alongside us. In the past, we have had many instances when two films hit screens and both did well.”
While speaking about their chances at the box office, Dhariwal stated that Deol is doing something for the first time in his career in this film. “Besides, we are presenting Sunny in a new avatar. He has a double role in the film and I am sure his fans will love him.”
It is clear that Khan's film will walk away with a large number of screens because of its stature. But Dhariwal is fine with it. “The distributors are saying we may not get the desired number of screens, so we are okay with even 2,000 screens. I am not worried at all.” He also revealed that Deol, too, has no problems with the clash.
Bhaiyyaji Superhit is an important film for Sunny. He hasn't delivered a hit after Yamla Pagla Deewana in 2011. His last release was Ghayal Once Again last year. Khan, on the other hand, is a box office king. His last release Sultan (2016) turned out to be a blockbuster as it earned over Rs300 crore in India alone.
The year has already seen one big clash in the form of Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees and Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil. Although Raees didn’t turn out to be a big hit, it earned more than the other.