Salaar producer Vijay Kirgandur of Hombale Films has confirmed what was so far a mere hearsay in trade: that the mighty actioner starring Prabhas locked its December 22 release date, thereby clashing with Shah Rukh Khan’s comedy drama Dunki, due to astrological reasons.
Directed by Prashanth Neel of KGF fame, Salaar was earlier supposed to release on September 28 but was pushed due to pending work. Vijay said the team then looked at dates till May 2024, but what felt the most favorable, which also had long weekends and a holiday period of ten days, was December 22 — a date already booked by Dunki, directed by Rajkumar Hirani.
Dunki makers then announced that they would come a day prior and would open globally on December 21. When asked by Bollywood Hungama, if December 22 as the date for Salaar was taken due to astrological reasons, Vijay Kirgandur said, “Yes. We announced the date based on our beliefs. So yes, we do believe in certain aspects. We always plan our dates in this manner for 10-12 years and we’ll do so even in future. That’s how we announced December 22 and then we didn’t prepone a day though Dunki and Aquaman are coming on December 21.”
With two big films releasing during the same holiday season, there are bound to be high-tension behind-the-scenes fight to grab the maximum screens and get the best showcasing.
But Vijay said the team does not want things to be “ugly”. The producer said they are already having meetings with the exhibitors and distributors and hope Salaar and Dunki get 50-50 screens.
“When we have a solo release, the occupancy generally will be around 60-70%. Some screens will go to Aquaman but between Salaar and Dunki, we hope to get 50-50 screens in the best scenario. In such a scenario, if an occupancy of 90-100% is achieved, it’ll be a good result for both films.
“Even if we get more screens, the occupancy will anyway go down to 60% or 70%. What we are planning is that we should get more occupancy, even if we get fewer screens than what we would have got if Salaar was a solo release. Even Overseas, these discussions are going on. Programming is the key now and that’s what we are focusing on, without getting into ugly fights,” he added.
Click for more updates and latest Bollywood news along with Entertainment updates. Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the world at The Indian Express.
Salaar producer on how they are avoiding ‘ugly clash’ with Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki, says Prabhas actioner locked release date for ‘astrological reasons’ – The Indian Express
Leave a comment