Rakesh Roshan hints that Shah Rukh had agreed to shift Raees release, but did a volte-face

Kaabil producer Rakesh Roshan has gone on record to state that Raees makers Shah Rukh Khan, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar have gone back on their word of postponing the film's release to avoid a clash with Kaabil.

The two films eventually released on the same day (25 January). While Kaabil is struggling to cover its production costs, Raees is inching closer to the Rs100-crore mark.

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According to reports, initially, Raees actor-producer Shah Rukh, producers Sidhwani and Akhtar had met Rakesh in a bid to persuade him to postpone the clash with Raees. Back then, Rakesh had called it a meeting between friends. He has now opened up to news website NavbharatTimes.com on what transpired at the meeting. 

"The truth is that day, I couldn’t persuade Khan and Sidhwani to shift the release date of their film. I told them (Akhtar, Sidhwani) that you are much younger to me and I’ve cast Khan in three films. I explained my position to Sidhwani and Khan very well. From our conversation, I got an impression that they had agreed to my point (shifting Raees release date), but soon after they went and announced 26 January as the release date of their film," Roshan told NavbharatTimes.com.

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Kaabil actor Hrithik Roshan, too, acknowledged having a talk with Shah Rukh and Sidhwani.

"Business and friendship cannot be mixed. Now, what’s happened, has happened. I’m well aware that Raees is a big film and no one would have been able to compete with it," Rakesh was quoted as saying in the same report.

It must be noted that Rakesh's comments come a day after Raees makers threw a party to celebrate their success. The film has thus far bagged Rs98.25 crore at the box-office. The film has at least easily surpassed its cost of production, which is approximately Rs85 crore. Raees had Shah Rukh, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead.

Kaabil's total stands at Rs58 crore, which is still Rs2 crore less than its approximate cost of production of Rs60 crore. Kaabil has Hrithik and Yami Gautam in the lead.

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