© Provided by The Times of India
It doesn’t get bigger than this. Sunny Deol vs Ranbir Kapoor vs Akshay Kumar vs Rajinikanth. ‘Gadar 2’ vs ‘Animal’ vs ‘OMG 2’ vs ‘Jailer’. The entry of ‘OMG 2’ this morning into the boxing ring has created a flutter. The fight is out in the open, each one of them wanting to make the best from August 11 (Friday) to August 15 (Independence Day, Tuesday) in particular.
There’ll be fights for screens, there’ll be fights for venues of promotional campaigns, there’ll be fights over ticket pricing and God knows what. While all four will put up a poker smile and say that ‘May the best film win’, we at ETimes think that it is the right time to speak to the trade circle to get their perspective on this 4-way clash. And we have done it. Read on…
Firstly, when was the last time that such a mammoth clash happened? Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “I really don’t know what to say. I think ‘OMG 2’ announced its release date today, based on the rumour that was floating fast and furious yesterday that ‘Animal’ is going to be postponed. But I have confirmed from the makers that they are not just NOT postponing it but also going all out.”
Adds Adarsh, “Pray, how will the exhibitors decide on the number of shows that they have to give to 4 films, which are almost equally big? How will the public decide which film they should go for? This in turn will put the onus on the reviews and word-of-mouth.”
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Wonder how the public will decide on Friday? For all you know, they might say that let the reviews and word-of-mouth begin and settle- and only then by Saturday or Sunday, we shall take the call on which film we are inclined for. Adarsh chips back, “This 4-way fight is unhealthy.”
Who will win? Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, “I don’t think ‘Gadar 2’ and ‘Jailer’ are running the race. The youth will be inclined to see either ‘Animal’ or ‘OMG 2’. So, this clash is more between ‘Animal’ and ‘OMG 2’. Lekin haan, Rajinikanth may make a dent in their collections. Now, who will win, at the end of the day, in totality, is a little early to answer. Let’s see what the trailer of these films holds.”
Adds Mehra, “And talking about the division of screens in multiplexes, I don’t think it would be a problem for ‘Animal’ or ‘OMG’ to get 7 shows each,” and then says with a pause, “Since it has become a case of as many as FOUR movies on the same day,. I strongly feel that one of them will hold itself back.”
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A source from PVR, however, includes ‘Gadar 2’ to be very much in the race and says, “It’s a good problem for us to have. But we have enough capacity to accomodate 4 films. More the merrier.”
Executive Director of Gaiety-Galaxy-Gemini, Manoj Desai, however, says, “I think some of them should move their date to before August 11 and some to after August 11. Only one of the four should be released on August 11.”
Well, you and I must know how the makers are feeling about this 4-way clash, or let’s say, the 3-horse race. After all, it is they who have made the film. Has the clash taken them by surprise? Are they worried? Talking to ETimes about ‘Gadar 2’ clashing with ‘Animal’ in an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, Anil Sharma had said, “I love Ranbir Kapoor who stars in ‘Animal’, he is a fine actor. I love Sandeep Reddy Vanga (the director of ‘Animal’) as a director. I wish them all the best. ‘Animal’ is a big one. But, there is no problem if two films release on the same day. Dono chalengi, industry garam hogi.” See that interview in the video below:
This afternoon, we spoke to Anil Sharma also about ‘OMG 2’ entering the fray. Anil Sharma said, “Swagat hai. Jo movie achi hogi, woh chalegi. Agar teeno achi hongi, toh teeno chalegi. I am not tense.”
And what does the ‘OMG 2’ director Amit Rai feel? When contacted, Amit Rai heard us out and said, “Kya mujhe koi quote dena hai kya? (Do I have to give you a quote?)” And when we replied in the affirmative, he said, “Can I reach my office and have a cup of tea and then call you? I shall do that in 5 minutes.” Well, we waited for 1-hour but the call never came. So post that, we started calling him again- but Amit Rai did not pick up our calls.
Director of ‘Animal’, Sandeep Venga Reddy, chose to remain unavailable for comment. We had texted him but got no response till the time of going online. Our calls to him also went unanswered.