Ahead of 'Dunki' Clash, 'Salaar' Producer Says December 22 Release Date Chosen Due To "Astrological Reasons"
'Salaar' producer Vijay Kirgandur of Hombale Films has confirmed that the film locked its December 22 release date due to astrological reasons.
2023 will end with a bang as two major movies -- Shah Rukh Khan's 'Dunki' and Prabhas' 'Salaar' will be going against each other at the box office. 'Dunki', directed by Rajkumar Hirani, which also stars Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal, will be releasing in cinemas on December 21 while 'Salaar', directed by Prashanth Neel, will hit the theatres a day later on December 22. In the latest entertainment news, 'Salaar' producer Vijay Kirgandur of Hombale Films has confirmed that the film locked its December 22 release date due to astrological reasons.
For the unversed, 'Salaar' was earlier scheduled to release in theatres on September 28, but it was postponed due to pending work.
During an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Vijay Kirgandur was asked whether December 22 was chosen as the release date due to "astrological reasons".
Confirming the news, Vijay said, "Yes. We announced the date based on our beliefs. So yes, we do believe in certain aspects. We always plan our dates in this manner for 10-12 years and we’ll do so even in future. That’s how we announced December 22 and then we didn’t prepone a day though Dunki and Aquaman are coming on December 21.”
With 'Dunki' and 'Salaar' slated to release during the same holiday season, there is bound to be tension behind-the-scenes to grab the maximum screens and get the best showcasing.
“When we have a solo release, the occupancy generally will be around 60-70%. Some screens will go to Aquaman but between Salaar and Dunki, we hope to get 50-50 screens in the best scenario. In such a scenario, if an occupancy of 90-100% is achieved, it’ll be a good result for both films," he said.
“Even if we get more screens, the occupancy will anyway go down to 60% or 70%. What we are planning is that we should get more occupancy, even if we get fewer screens than what we would have got if Salaar was a solo release. Even Overseas, these discussions are going on. Programming is the key now and that’s what we are focusing on, without getting into ugly fights,” he added.
Earlier, it was revealed that ‘Salaar’ has been granted an 'A' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
It has also surfaced that ‘Salaar’ will have a runtime of 2 hours and 55 minutes. The announcement was made by production house Hombale Films.
Apart from Prabhas, ‘Salaar: Part 1: Ceasefire’ also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, and Jagapathi Babu.
For the unversed, ‘Salaar’ will be releasing in two parts and the first part is titled ‘Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire’. Backed by Hombale Films, ‘Salaar’ is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 400 crore and is produced by Vijay Kiragandur.
Earlier, Prashanth Neel said that no filmmaker desires a clash, be it with a newcomer or a veteran like Rajkumar Hirani.
"Clash is not something you ideally want, be it with a newcomer or with the biggest star of Indian cinema. But it is a very unpleasant situation for anybody to move their date to somebody else's date. We also wouldn't want somebody to move to our date when we have announced it a year before. And we also did not want to do it. But that was a logistical decision that was taken only by the production," Prashanth Neel told Times of India.
"And usually we (me and my team) don't get into the aspects of what the production is going to decide as a release date, because they do not interfere in my process of filmmaking. So I do not interfere in their process of marketing or the release dates, the business aspect," he added.
