Shah Rukh Khan on Raees vs Kaabil clash: It's unfortunate but there was no other date!

Pramod Gaikwad January 18, 2017, 02.13 PM IST


The impending clash between Shah Rukh Khan's Raees and Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil at the box office on January 25, is currently the hot topic of discussion in the tinsel town. The makers of both the films made several attempts in shifting the release date of their films to avert the big box office clash but it was all in vain. While Rakesh Roshan called Raees' release strategy as unethical, son Hrithik said that it was unfortunate and it would be a loss of almost INR 100 crore. Shah Rukh Khan, who had maintained silence over the issue till now, has finally spoken about the impending clash. He said that he tried his best to shift the release date of Raees but there was no other date.

"The businesses now will get shared. But then again, we don't have too many theatres to accommodate two big films, as yet. If there were another 1000-1200 theatres more, it would be all right. But two films coming on the same day individually won't earn as much as they would have. That's logical. But there's no other date, yaar! I have tried my best to shift it around. We were initially supposed to come on Eid in June, then I tried to get it in September-October, but Ae Dil and Shivaay were coming. Then I tried to come on December 9, but Befikre was coming. In between, I had Dear Zindagi, too. So, unfortunately because of the delay and my injury, it is what it is now. Otherwise, even if we had come on Eid, it would have still clashed with Sultan. There are 200 films and just 52 weeks, so then some will have to come together. It's unfortunate but a few years from now, when the number of theatres increase — which I hear is already in process — and if we reach another 1,200 screens, two films coming on the same day won't be a problem anymore," Shah Rukh Khan said in an interview with DNA.

Earlier, both the makers of the film tried to avert the clash through several discussions but Rakesh Roshan was not letting his foot slip and was firm with his decision. While, the Roshans tried to take full advantage of the republic day week to gain the upper hand at the box office, the makers of Raees counterfeited their decision and planned a worldwide release of their film on January 25, straight from morning shows.
Directed by Sanjay Gupta, Kaabil is a revenge drama wherein Hrithik plays the role of a blind person, while Rahul Dholakia's directorial, Raees is an action-crime thriller wherein Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of a ruthless don Raees Alam.