Rakesh Roshan slams makers of Raees

Last week, Rakesh Roshan announced that his upcoming production ‘Kaabil’ will release in theatres a day before it was previously scheduled. In a statement to the media, Roshan said his film will hit theatres at 6PM on 25th January.

About a week after the announcement and a day prior to the release of the ‘Raees’ theatrical trailer, reports emerged that Shah Rukh Khan had also decided to release his film on 25th January.

Reacting to this, Rakesh Roshan has slammed the makers of Raees saying “Whatever dates we are taking, they are following us. I would have never done the same”

Here’s what the senior Roshan had to say to DNA:

I didn’t know about their date. My distributors said we should come out on January 25 from the evening shows. I didn’t know the Raees team also planned to change their date.

Whatever dates we are taking, they are following us. I would have never done the same. I belong to an old school of filmmaking and I have given 50 years of my life to the industry. I would never release my film on a day when another filmmaker has already announced their film. I decided to remove Krrish 4 also from Christmas 2018 because I saw SRK’s film is coming that day. I could have easily released my film with Befikre or even with Dangal if I had to clash. But when I announced the film in February, I saw a clean window in January and hence I picked the date. I can’t get into this new groove of things because I don’t understand it.”

It’s a full fledged release on November 25 and not just paid previews. Now that the other film is following my release date, it’s up to my distributors to take a call – whether to release from 6 pm or right from the morning shows.

After a ugly box office clash between Ajay Devgn and Karan Johar during Diwali this year, we could be in for yet another dirty clash. However, while Ajay and Karan were never the best of friends, the relationship that the Roshans share with SRK goes back to the early 90s. In fact, Hrithik is very close to the main men at Excel Entertainment too.

It’s a clash that should not have happened, but with both sides unwilling to move, two similar films are heading towards a major clash at the box office.