JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai vs SS Rajamouli’s RRR: What does the clash of two Alia Bhatt films mean?
It's clash of titans at the box-office in January as SS Rajamouli's RRR gears up to take on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai. What does this clash suggest? Detailed analysis
On October 1, Sanjay Leela Bhansali announced that his upcoming period drama, Gangubai, fronted by Alia Bhatt with Ajay Devgn in a key role will release in cinema halls across the globe on January 6. The news has got the entire trade excited as the magnum opus is poised to start 2022 with a bang for the exhibitors in the Northern belt. Just a couple of days after Gangubai's announcement, SS Rajamouli took to social media to inform that his epic, RRR, featuring Jr. NTR and Ram Charan with Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles will release in cinema halls on January 7.
The indirect clash between the two films has resulted in multiple conversations across the industry for multiple reasons. While there’s a section which insists that it’s not exactly the right time to clash, there’s another one wondering how two films with Alia Bhatt as the female lead, Jayantilal Gada as the producer with Ajay Devgn in extended cameo release in the same week. An exhibitor on the condition of anonymity tells us, “These are two tentpole Hindi films. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a master of his craft and Gangubai is easily among the most anticipated films of Bollywood. He was the first to announce his date. SS Rajamouli returns after Bahubali franchise and one expects a lot from RRR too in the Hindi belts. A big budget film facing another mid-scale project make some sense however two magnum opuses coming in the same week isn’t practical.”
The exhibitor further reasons, “Jayantilal Gada is releasing both the films in Hindi, and on the showcasing front, it’s going to be a nightmare as we wouldn’t want to miss out on either of the two films. Equal showcasing seems like a fair solution, but both these films deserve optimum showcasing.” The trade as well as the media hopes for the dynamics to change in the coming few weeks.
While RRR will be getting a week-long free run in the Telugu states, the stakes will be high in the Hindi belts too considering that SS Rajamouli returns to direction after the Bahubali franchise. The entire country has their eyes on RRR to see if the maverick filmmaker manages to recreate the magic of Bahubali: The Beginning in the Hindi belts. The first target would be to breach past the three-digit mark in the Hindi circuits If it’s possible in clash or not is something only time shall say. The brand name and goodwill of Bahubali followed by the track record of Rajamouli are the two key factors working in favor RRR in the Hindi circuits at this point of time. The factor working in favor of Gangubai in the Hindi belts is the fact that it’s a vehicle driven by Alia Bhatt, unlike RRR, which features two relatively fresh face for the audience alongside the audience pull of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Ajay's dynamic extended appearance in both films too adds on to the hype.
A clear run of at-least a week in Hindi would have given a bigger platform to RRR, however, with a clash on cards one hopes for fireworks at the box office from both the projects. There have been instances in the past when two films have emerged winners, the biggest example being the June 2001 clash of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and Lagaan. While Gadar emerged a monumental blockbuster, Lagaan too managed to emerge a clean hit. However, in the pandemic times, one is yet to discover the exact SOP’s and the cinema consumption pattern of the audience, and this scenario might act as a case study for the industry. It’s game on between the two titans!
Latest Articles
