Adding to the list of box office wars, another epic war is in the pipeline as Shah Rukh Khan's "Happy New Year" is set to clash with Ranbir Kapoor's "Jagga Jasoos" next year.
Both the superstar's film aimed at Diwali 2014 are in their production stages.
While the Farah Khan directed "Happy New Year" (HNY) which stars SRK, Deepika Padukone and Abhishek Bachchan has completed its first leg of shooting in Dubai, Ranbir's detective adventure "Jagaa Jasoos" is still in pre-production stages.
When asked of the Ranbir's film's release, director Anurag Basu told Hindustan Times, "I will keep my film ready for release by September next year. After that, it will be the producer's call to release it on Diwali or whenever they want. But the fact is that we haven't taken a call on the release date yet."
Similarly, Farah also gave an ambiguous reply stating the release of HNY depended only on the completion of the shooting.
The Diwali slot, which plays a major role in a film's collection given the festive spirit has not been booked by any major releases in 2014. But an impending clash is expected between SRK and the rising superstar Ranbir.
Since other detective films Byomkesh Bakshi and Bobby Jasoos are expected to release later, Ranbir's film on the same genre will aim at early release to avoid the monotony. Moreover, "Jagga Jasoos" is co-produced by animated studios giant Disney pictures with UTV and hence a bigger market will be targeted, for which Diwali will prove the ideal time.
Previously, Shah Rukh Khan's "Om Shanti Om" had clashed with Ranbir Kapoor's "Sawaariya" in 2007 with the former emerging a clear winner. With a repeated situation, it would be an interesting to watch as to who steals whose thunder this time.
Number of screens allotted has also become a concern for the industry lately. The recent clash between SRK's "Chennai express' and Ekta Kapoor's "Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara" resulted in an ugly fight between the film's producers.
The public animosity between Ajay Devgn and Yash Raj Films in 2012 also made headlines during the release of Ajay's "Son of Sardar" and "Jab Tak Hai Jaan". The actor dragged the production house over unfair blocking of multiplex screens.
