Director Anees Bazmee has distanced himself from the ongoing battle for screens between his next film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again.
“The day I finished shooting, editing and post-production, my job was done. The film is now out of my hands. How it is promoted and marketed, how many screens it will get is not my concern. But yes, I want both the films to do well," Bazmee tells Subhash K Jha.
The battle for screens between the two Diwali releases is likely to get more ferocious in the days to come.
At least three cinema managers from Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai have confirmed about undue pressure to allot more screens to Singham Again.
“We are definitely under pressure from one of the two Diwali releases, Singham Again. Ideally, we would like to allot an equal number of screens to both films, which are successful franchises. They deserve an equal number of screens for the public to choose from. But as things are going, it seems likely that Singham Again will get more screens,” a cinema manager from Delhi shares on condition of anonymity.
Roshan Singh, a prominent cinema exhibitor in Bihar, points out an added hustle to the tussle: "Both are more than two and a half hours long. This means the number of shows per day gets automatically reduced for both. Mujhe toh yeh nahin samajh mein aa raha ki iss jung ki kya zaroorat hai?”
Anees Bazmee has the final say: “Both films have their own, different energy and vibes. They are very popular franchises, and are likely to be blockbusters. If Lagaan and Gadar can be blockbusters on the same Friday, why not Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3?”
