Akshay Kumar's "Gabbar Is Back", which is set to be released on 1 May, will clash with some regional movies at the box office and will have a tough time battling it out with "Uttama Villain" and "Vai Raja Vai".
"Gabbar Is Back", which marks director Krish's debut in Bollywood, is one of the big-ticket films of 2015. Ever since it was announced, the movie has been creating ripples in the media. Besides spending a hefty sum on promotions, the makers of the film have also booked a large number of cinema halls across the country for screening it.
Another Hindi film titled "Sabki Bajegi Band" will also be released on 1 May, but the makers of "Gabbar Is Back" are not worried, as it lacks hype and promotion. Another big relief for them is that there are no major releases other than a Punjabi movie "The Blood Street" and Marathi film "Timepass 2", which is a sequel to the hit film "Timepass".
But "Gabbar Is Back" will face difficulties in South India for many reasons. First, the film is a remake of Vijaykanth's 2002 Tamil film "Ramanna", which has already been remade as "Tagore" in Telugu and "Vishnu Sena" in Kannada. Many viewers down South have already watched all these versions and therefore, may not find anything new in "Gabbar Is Back".
Secondly, "Uttama Villain" and "Vai Raja Vai" are two highly-awaited Tamil movies. The promos of Kamal Haasan starrer "Uttama Villain" have made viewers eagerly await its release.
Both the films will be released in a large number of cinema halls not only in South, but also in other regions of India, giving "Gabbar is Back" a tough time.
Besides, Tollywood is gearing up for Telugu movies "Ganga", "Dhee Ante Dhee" and "Dongata", while Malayalam films "She Taxi", "Chirankodinja" and "Chandrettan Evideya" are also slated to be released on Friday. Similarly, Kannada film "Endendigu" will also be released on 1 May. Interestingly, some of these films will be screened in theatres up North also, making things really difficult for "Gabbar Is Back".
In any case, 2015 has not been a good year for Bollywood, with no film crossing the ₹100-crore mark in box office collections so far.
Akshay Kumar's previous release "Baby", which earned ₹95 crore in the domestic market, is the highest grosser till now. "Gabbar Is Back" is expected to break this record and become the first film to join the ₹100-crore club. It will be interesting to see if the Akshay Kumar starrer can successfully face competition from "Uttama Villain" and "Vai Raja Vai" and become the highest Bollywood grosser in India in 2015.
