By now, everybody is aware of the impending box-office clash between Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil and Shah Rukh Khan's Raees, both of which are set for a Republic Day release.
However, in an interview to Mumbai Mirror published today, Rakesh Roshan, who is Kaabil's producer seems pretty confident about Kaabil's box-office prospects.
Talking to senior journalist Meena Iyer, Roshan invoked a classic line from Francis Ford Coppola's enduring classic, The Godfather.
He said, "To quote a line from The Godfather, "It is strictly business, not personal."
In the interview, Roshan explained his reasons for sticking to the date despite being asked to push the release several times by Raees's producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.
He said, "What is baffling is that SRK, Farhan and Ritesh came to meet me twice to discuss the release date and I explained to them that the box office window open to us collectively is approximately Rs.300 crore. They agreed, then went and announced that they are coming on the Republic Day Weekend of 2017."
He also said that his reluctance to shift the release date is because of his superstitious nature.
"Once SRK suggested to me that I should shift my date. I told him I couldn't because I am superstitious. During 'King Uncle', I had pushed the release earlier by four weeks because of my daughter Sunaina's wedding and the film flopped. After that I have never shifted the original date."
He said that he found himself in a similar quandary during Hrithik's debut but he stuck his neck out and the payoff was worth it.
He said: "Even during Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai in January 2000, Aamir Khan's Mela opened a week before our film and Shah Rukh's Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani released a week later while Anil Kapoor's Pukar was scheduled for two weeks later. Many of my distributors advised me not to come out on January 14 with Aamir on one side and Shah Rukh on the other. But I refused to change the date even though three distributors opted out two weeks prior to the release. They told me I was committing hara-kiri. I released the film myself in these territories and even mortgaged my house. God was kind, the film was successful."
You can read the entire interview here.
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