Two Kapoors versus one Khan at the box office this September

Come September 9 and all eyes will be riveted on the BO as the three young turks of Bollywood — Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan — take on each other, with their films scheduled to release on the same day. While Imran’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Ranbir’s Rockstar were already due for a September 9 release, Shahid’s Mausam joined the fray after it was postponed to avoid a clash with Ajay Devgn-starrer Singham releasing on July 22. But while the Ajay-Shahid clash has been averted, the war between the three Ks now seems inevitable. The much speculated war between two arc rivals — Imran and Ranbir — now gets all the more exciting with Shahid in the picture.

“Yes, it’s going to be an interesting weekend as it will be a neck-to-neck fight between the three,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “All the three are credible actors with a strong fan base. Besides all the three films are extremely viable projects commercially,” adds Taran.

“Shahid is more established as an actor. The real tug of war is going to be between Imran and Ranbir considering their ongoing rivalry,” says an insider. While talk of Ranbir’s love life ups the interest factor in him, it’s Imran’s upcoming film Delhi Belly that’s creating a buzz around him. 

But Taran, as well as other industry observers, insist that three biggies releasing on the same day is actually bad news for the industry. “The shows will have to be divided and so the business will also be divided. It will harm all the three films,” explains a veteran film distributor. “A wise thing would be to postpone one of the films to reduce the chances of the business eating into each other’s films. It’s time to put aside egos and think practically,” adds another.

However, a top producer feels otherwise. “Each of the actors come with their own appeal. All the three films have different sensibilities too, so it will be interesting for the audiences who will have some good options at hand. So, may the best one win,” he says.