A still from Raees.
New Delhi:
This year's main box office event has been cancelled. The fearsome clash of the Khans - Shah Rukh's Raees vs Salman's Sultan - has been averted and SRK's film has been postponed to next year. Raees will now open on January 26, 2017, leaving Sultan the sole occupant of this year's Eid slot.
"It was not an easy decision to move the film. We understand that Raees is highly anticipated. However, a film of such magnitude requires appropriate showcasing and therefore, we have decided to shift our release date to 26th January 2017," read a joint statement on behalf of producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, who co-own Excel Entertainment, and SRK.
A Salman film has become an Eid tradition of sorts and when Excel booked the same date for Raees, Bollywood pundits furiously debated what the fallout would be. Rumours that Raees would reschedule were shot down on Twitter by Mr Sidhwani.
However, SRK won't get the box office to himself next Republic Day weekend - he's exchanged the collision with Salman for a three-way tangle with Ajay Devgn's Baadshaho and Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil.
Shah Rukh Khan has recently emerged - not unscathed - from a clash. His 2015 film Dilwale released with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.
The Yash Raj-made Fan, which released last month, will now be SRK's only film this year.
Set in the dry state of Gujarat, Rahul Dholakia's Raees traces SRK's character's journey from that of a bootlegger to a politician. The film also casts Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a police officer and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, making her debut in Bollywood.
"It was not an easy decision to move the film. We understand that Raees is highly anticipated. However, a film of such magnitude requires appropriate showcasing and therefore, we have decided to shift our release date to 26th January 2017," read a joint statement on behalf of producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, who co-own Excel Entertainment, and SRK.
A Salman film has become an Eid tradition of sorts and when Excel booked the same date for Raees, Bollywood pundits furiously debated what the fallout would be. Rumours that Raees would reschedule were shot down on Twitter by Mr Sidhwani.
Some people spreading Rumours about #Raees release being moved.. Like I said RUMOURS
— Ritesh Sidhwani (@ritesh_sid) February 12, 2016
However, SRK won't get the box office to himself next Republic Day weekend - he's exchanged the collision with Salman for a three-way tangle with Ajay Devgn's Baadshaho and Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil.
Shah Rukh Khan has recently emerged - not unscathed - from a clash. His 2015 film Dilwale released with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.
The Yash Raj-made Fan, which released last month, will now be SRK's only film this year.
Set in the dry state of Gujarat, Rahul Dholakia's Raees traces SRK's character's journey from that of a bootlegger to a politician. The film also casts Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a police officer and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, making her debut in Bollywood.
