Ajay Devgn playing safe after Shivaay loses box office battle to Ae Dil Hai Mushkil?

Ajay Devgn was confident Shivaay would do well at the box office, but the numbers painted a different picture. The action-thriller clashed with Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and the result wasn't pretty.

Rumour has it, Devgn wants to play it safe with Golmaal 4. The Rohit Shetty-directorial is scheduled for a Diwali release, a date locked by the makers of 2.0 as well. Team Golmaal 4 is seriously contemplating shifting their release date, Deccan Chronicle reported.

Meanwhile, trade experts have given their two cents on the number game that might ensue if the films release on the same dates. "Rajinikanth is a huge star. However, the reason Golmaal is slated to release against Rajinikanth's 2.0 perhaps could be the fact that Rajini does not have the same fan base as he has in south India," film analyst Komal Nahta told Mumbai Mirror.

Film exhibitioner Akshaye Rathi believes that both have their pluses. While one has a certain "edginess" to it, the Golmaal franchise has never gone wrong with its fun-quotient.

However, Sanjay Ghai, film exhibitor-distributor, strongly said it's too early to predict the future of the said films. "The budget of 2.0 is high and solo release could have easily recovered the cost. However, even if it doesn't, the film with such anticipation is bound to spark off excitement at the box office. With or without clash, both these films are bound to work at the box office and let's hope that Diwali 2017 will be a splendid one," he added.

2.0, directed by Shankar Shanmugam, stars Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson in lead roles. Golmaal 4 will see Devgn, Parineeti Chopra, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade essay important parts.