Stills from Padmavat, PadMan and Aiyaary.
Highlights
- Padmavat and PadMan are releasing on January 25
- Trade pundits say that Padmavat vs PadMan may not be bad news
- I think we are coming on January 26: Aiyaary actor Sidharth Malhotra
Deepika Padukone's
Padmavat release date has disrupted the release pattern of many films, reportedly including that of Sidharth Malhotra's
Aiyaary. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed period piece has been cleared for release by the Central Board of Film Certification with five edits (including the title, which was
Padmavati before the CBFC axed the 'i') on January 25.
Padmavat will clash at the box office with Akshay Kumar's
PadMan, which was
Aiyaary's original competitor. As per industry reports,
Aiyaary's new release date is February 9 but Sidharth told news agency IANS: "We haven't decided anything officially. I think we are coming on January 26. We will decide and make announcement really soon."
On Monday, trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted that
Aiyaary's release date has been shifted to February 9 (when it will clash with Anushka Sharma's
Pari) but a confirmation from the filmmakers is awaited.
Aiyaary's release date was announced weeks after Akshay had announced
PadMan will hit the screens on January 26.
Aiyaary director Neeraj Pandey braced for a clash anyway. An insider told news agency IANS that Neeraj Pandey, who has directed Akshay in
Special 26 and
Baby had a falling out over the financing of their proposed project titled
Crack. "Neeraj still went ahead with the release of
Aiyaary. Why? Because the two have fallen out over financial issues," a source told IANS.
Of clashing with
Padmavat, Akshay told news agency PTI: "Every film has the right to release whenever they (makers) want, and I am happy for them." In recent times, Akshay Kumar has emerged victorious in box office battles. In 2016,
Rustom bested Hrithik Roshan's
Mohenjo Daro and before that
Airlift beat
Kya Kool Hai Hum 3. But it cannot be ignored that luck also favoured Sanjay Leela Bhansali when his film
Bajirao Mastani clashed at the box office with Shah Rukh Khan's
Dilwale in 2015.
According to trade pundits,
PadMan vs Padmavat may not be bad news at all. Komal Nahta told news agency IANS: "Both the films boast of solid storylines, so, they will perform well. It's a holiday weekend, and the audience will try to catch them both."
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)