Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet has now been confirmed for release on November the 28th, 2014. Previously there had been some conspiracy and confusion over the release date as the film had clashed with Rajkumar Hirani’s, P.K. Both films were reportedly to release on Christmas Day 2014, now neither film will be doing so as PK is set for the 19th of December 2014 – just under a week before the festive day.
Bombay Velvet stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the lead as well as the popular director/producer Karan Johar who will be playing a villainous character. The film is based on Princeton Historian Gyan Prakash’ Mumbai Fables and portrays how Mumbai became a metropolis.
P.K stars Aamir Khan in the lead. Khan has also co-written the screenplay and co-produced the film which has been stated to be a satire about God and God-men.
If the two very different films had clashed, would it really have influenced the sales and the audience?
Well, what is interesting is that Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor hold two opposing opinions on this matter.
Aamir Khan had asserted to Koimoi that a clash in dates does not affect a film and emphasised that a good film will always succeed. “…I have always felt that films have space with the ever growing theatres in India. Two or three films can release on the same day, there is no problem. And if both films are good, they both will do well.”
Recently however, Ranbir Kapoor argued that a clash does indeed affect a film. He also defended Bombay Velvet as the “best film”.
Kapoor told PTI, “I think it is the correct release date as we will get more theatres. We don’t want to clash with another film as it affects the business of a film. It is the best film. And we hope the audience will like the film.”
With a space of three weeks in between the release date of Bombay Velvet and P.K, it will be interesting to see how the two promising films fare in comparison.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t end yet.
To add to the competition, sources reveal that Anees Bazmee’s Welcome Back has also been set for the 19th of December, therefore clashing with P.K. Welcome Back is the sequel to the 2007 comedy Welcome and stars John Abraham.
It seems that the weeks surrounding Christmas 2014 may provide exciting insight into what makes a film succeed- or not succeed.
