Salman’s Ready seems to be on a collision course with Katrina Kaif’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara at the box office and the impending tussle has got industry tongues wagging as no one had expected the “once in love” couple to be fighting it out commercially.
Says an industry observer, “One knew that Ready was well on its way towards completion but there were no hints about its release plans. On the other hand, the release of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was announced weeks ago and it was always going to be May 27. However, with Salman releasing Ready on the same date, it will be nothing short of a major clash.”
While Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is touted to be a fun, youthful film with a cast comprising Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin, Ready is a family entertainer with Asin as Salman’s co-star.
“Thankfully the films seem to be targeting different audience bases, otherwise it would have been a calamity,” says another insider, “Knowing the sensibility of Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is expected to be more urban centric and would be targeting the multiplexes. On the other hand, Ready brings director Anees Bazmee and Salman together again after No Entry and they would be looking at the masses for bringing in the moolah.”
One also wonders whether there are more issues here other than Salman and Katrina. Hrithik is of course not very happy about Salman’s recent taunt that “not even a dog went to see Guzaarish”, and he has not hidden his feeling about it. So the battle might just be between Salman and Hrithik instead of Salman and Katrina. After the debacles of Kites and Guzaarish, Hrithik must have been looking forward to a solo release but unfortunately he is now up against Salman Dabangg Khan and punters would definitely put their money on the mighty Khan. One would have expected the makers to comment on the issue but neither Anees Bazmee nor Zoya Akhtar were available for comments.