We haven't seen Aamir Khan on the big screen since PK in 2014, so it's no wonder that Dangal is one of the most anticipated films in 2016. The talented actor always chooses different types of roles and this movie is no exception. He will be seen as a former wrestling champion whose dream is to win a gold medal for India. While he yearns for a son to achieve this, he realises that his daughter can make his dream come true.
Salman Khan's Sultan, which released in July this year, also had a similar wrestling theme. Aarfa (Anushka Sharma) dreams of winning a gold medal for India but it's Sultan who achieves this in the end. This romantic-action flick went on to be one of the biggest blockbusters in Hindi films grossing Rs 584 crore at the box office. Can Dangal better this feat?
Firstly, let's look at our stars. In Sultan, Salman Khan plays a middle-aged wrestler; in Dangal, Aamir Khan plays a pot-bellied father of two daughters. Though Salman was in his 40s in the film, the fact was that he was still single. In Aamir's case, not so. Will the audience be able to accept Aamir in such a role though the movie might strike an emotional chord? After watching his cute alien-like face and fit body in PK, it's going to be a little tough to get used to him rubbing his paunch.
Moreover, in Sultan, there was the obvious romance between Salman and Anushka Sharma. He pataoed her with Baby ko bass pasand hai which then went on to be a must-play song during the Ganpati visarjan. In Dangal, however, Aamir Khan is married to Sakshi Tanwar, so there is no question of baby or bass in the film. Daler Mehndi has sung a song in the film but it's likely to be a bhangra-type picturised with the entire village celebrating. So out goes the romance.
Dangal is based on a true story, while Sultan is a figment of someone's imagination. But Sultan has already proven itself at the box office despite the fact that it had flaws. In Dangal's case, the movie has to remain true to the story and still make a massive dent at the BO. Both the Khan stars have a massive fan following, but Salman probably has an edge because he ensures he picks commercial mass scripts with peppy songs. So whether the story is logical or not, well taken or not, his fans will flock to the theatres numerous times just to see their hero do his jhataks and mouth punchlines. On the other hand, Aamir tends to experiment with his scripts and yes, looks. And it has worked very well for him. With Dangal releasing on December 23, we'll have to wait and see how the Sultan-Dangal wrestling match at the box office turns out to be.
