The film trade is agog and aghast at the impending clash between two of the biggest films in recent times. While Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi is scheduled for release on January 6, 2022, S S Rajamouli’s RRR in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu opens a day later, on January 7.
Bhansali and Rajamouli have always been compared for their epic vision. In fact Rajamouli confesses to being a Bhansali fan. Such a clash at time when the movie-theatre business is gasping for survival seems suicidal. Compounding the problem is the fact that Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn feature in the cast of both films.
Responding to the impending clash director Sanjay Leela Bhansali said to me, “We announced our date long before the other film.”
Rajamouli feels there is room for two films during the same week. “The clash won’t hamper the business. Even if four films come together, if they are good, people are going to come to watch all of them. There have been multiple instances in the past when this has happened.”
He blames the pandemic for the bottleneck of releases. “This is the time for all of us to come together and say, think and feel that all films should make money.”
There is a reason why Gangubai Kathiawadi is being released all over the world on January 6. The number 6 is considered very lucky by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his leading lady Alia Bhatt.
Says a source very close to the filmmaker, “Sanjay’s birth date is 24 February, that is number 4 and 2 adding up to 6. Alia’s birth date 15 March also adds up to number 6.”