Big fight at the box office

Still from Love Story 2050Bollywood producer Harry Baweja is all set to launch son Harman Baweja on June 4 in Love Story 2050.
So he���s requested Aamir Khan to postpone nephew Imran Khan���s Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, also slated for release on the same day. Aamir has reportedly refused since Imran has another film hitting the screens in August. Also lined up for release on June 6 are Ram Gopal Varma���s Sarkar Raj starring the Bachchans, Priyadarshan���s Mere Baap Pehle Aap starring Akshaye Khanna, and Tusshar���s C-Kkompany.
A clash of releases can be disastrous as Sanjay Leela Bhansali found out when his Saawariya hit the theatres on the same day as Shah Rukh Khan���s Om Shanti Om. Producer Sanjay Gupta faced a similar dilemma when his Shootout at Lokhandwala starring Amitabh Bachchan, was pitted against another Big B-starrer, Balki���s Cheeni Kum. ���Amitabh Bachchan requested me to postpone Shootout���s release for Cheeni Kum. He felt there���d be a clash as both featured him in major roles. But the films were of different genres, so I wasn���t apprehensive,��� says Sanjay. But all filmmakers are wary of timing their films��� releases with biggies. ���Big films attract huge audiences. No filmmaker wants to share his market with another film,��� explains Sanjay.
But the makers of Cheeni Kum weren���t worried about releasing it with Shootout. Ashwin R, who assisted Balki in the film, says, ���If we���d released it earlier, it would���ve clashed with a Yash Raj film. Cheeni Kum had a different audience. Viewership wouldn���t have been being divided.���
It���s happened in the Kannada industry too. When Sudeep���s My Autograph and Darshan���s Suntaragaali released on the same day in 2005, Darshan���s film didn���t do as well as it might have. Which is probably why this time Darshan���s Indra, which was supposed to release at the same time as Mussanje Maathu starring Sudeep and Ramya, was postponed. But Indra���s producer, Kuppuswami, has a different take. ���The makers of Mussanje Maathu requested me to set another release date. So Indra will be released two weeks later than originally scheduled,��� he says.
Among recent Tamil films, Dhanush-starrer Polladhavan, Surya���s Veyil, Azhagiya Thamizh Magan featuring Vijay, and Evano Oruvan released simultaneously, resulting in divided viewership and lukewarm responses for all but Polladhavan. And, of course, no filmmaker dared to release alongside Rajnikanth���s Sivaji, The Boss.