The damage which Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees and Hrithik
Roshan’s Kaabil faced individually because of their box-office clash is still
fresh in everyone’s mind. Trade analysts and the industry were of the opinion
in majority that the films would have performed better than what they did had
they not decided to come together on the same date.
After all the drama which took place during these films’
release, here comes the news of another mega clash at the box-office. This time
it’s Shah Rukh Khan vs Akshay Kumar.
Yes, Akshay's Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Imtiaz Ali's
untitled film that stars SRK and Anushka Sharma -- both are set to release
on August 11, 2017. Mark your dates! Taran Adarsh just tweeted about
Akshay’s film’s release date:
It's SRK versus Akshay Kumar on 11 Aug 2017 now... Imtiaz Ali's SRK-Anushka starrer [not titled yet] versus #ToiletEkPremKatha.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 28, 2017
Interestingly, Akshay and Shah Rukh have had a history of
sorts. Back in 2004, Yash Chopra’s Veer Zara featuring Shah Rukh Khan along
with Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji clashed with Abbas-Mustan’s Aitraaz starring
Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. While Veer zara made
more than Rs 19 crore at the box-office, Aitraaz managed to collect Rs 7 crore.
Then in 2006, while Shah Rukh’s Don 2, which was a remake
of the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan hit, made more than Rs 24 crore, Salman Khan’s
romantic film, Jaan-E-Mann co-starring Preity Zinta and Akshay Kumar managed Rs
12 crore as they clashed on the same day.
But things were different then. Akshay Kumar has come a
long way, box-office figures of his small budget films register good figures,
making him a money-spinner for the producers.
Also, 2017 looks promising for Akshay Kumar. He will be
seen in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Padman, 2.0, Crack and a cameo in Naam
Shabana.
On the other hand, Shah Rukh Khan will be back in his
element with Imtiaz Ali’s romantic drama, a genre SRK excels in. Also janta has
always liked Shah Rukh and Anushka’s on screen camaraderie. Icing on the cake
is Imtiaz and Shah Rukh’s association for the first time. It will be
interesting to see how he directs the superstar.
Overall, it will be tough one at the box-office, unless
one of them- SRK or Akshay decides to shift his flim.
Thumbnail Image Source: Images/vk