Big-ticket releases with superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Rajinikanth and Prabhas in the fray, and a couple of sequels…looks like it's time to head towards cinema halls

Mona

Come Thursday and fingers will be crossed for the success of big-ticket releases of superstars Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and King Khan, and sequels OMG 2 and Gadar 2. Theatrical releases have seen a lull lately, but Independence Day weekend around the corner and good advance booking numbers, there seems to be something for varied tastes in August and September.

Hail Rajinikanth

When superstar Dhanush announces the release of Jailer, cinephiles across the world went into frenzy. Superstar Rajinikanth stars in the Tamil action drama directed by Nelson Dilip Kumar. Jailer also sees big names — Jackie Shroff, Shiva Rajkumar, Sunil, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal in a cameo. Ahead of its release on August 10, the film has already broken sales records overseas with $650K earnings in pre-sales in the US region. The excitement in India is touching dizzying heights too. Reportedly, in Bengaluru, the ‘first day, first show’ pricing is at Rs 800 and Rs 1,400 even for shows that start at 6 am! Advance booking reportedly crossed the figure of Rs 10 crore in Tamil Nadu alone.

Sequel time

Twenty two years on, the 2001 super-hit Gadar Ek Prem Katha will be back with a sequel on August 11, with Tara Singh and Sakeena (Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel) reprising their roles. The super-strong Tara Singh is back on Pakistani soil, this time to get his grown-up son Jeete (Utkarsh Sharma) back. Anil Sharma helms this outing as well.

This time too, its release is clashing with Akshay Kumar-starrer OMG 2. Back in 2001, Gadar released alongwith Ashutosh Gowariker-Aamir Khan’s magnum opus Lagaan, but still impressed at the box-office.

Promising signs

There is an impressive line-up. Box-office mood looks positive, uplifting and energetic. Gadar’s advance bookings are great. Generally, Independence Day week, barring last two years, brings cheer to cinemas. With big releases like OMG 2 and Dream Girl 2, hopefully things would take an upward swing. Jawaan brings King Khan along with South Indian stars. So far it looks like that Jawan would break even Pathaan’s massive records. Jailer being lapped up in advance bookings, things sure look promising. Prabhas has such a loyal base that even an average film does brisk business and Salaar looks rather promising.

Atul Mohan, Movie Business Analyst

Meanwhile, a sequel to 2012’s OMG – Oh My God!, OMG 2, an Amit Rai-directorial, has Akshay Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi, Pavan Malhotra and Yami Gautam in key roles. The film got an ‘A’ certificate with 25 modifications from the Central Board of Film Certification. While in advance bookings it lags behind Gadar 2, fans insist on catching up with both the films over the weekend! Meher Ramesh directed Telugu actioner Bhola Shankar, which sees Chiranjeevi in the titular character with Tamannaah Bhatia, Keerthy Suresh and Sushanth, will be released on August 11 too! Dream Girl 2 looks promising too as AyushmannKhurrana dashes back as Pooja on August 25.

Titans are back

King Khan, who brought cheer back to BO with Pathaan, is soon to be seen in double role in Atlee-directed Jawan, which has Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi as cast members. Trade analysts believe Jawan will surpass Pathaan’s spectacular Rs 1,050.3 crore BO collections! It releases on September 7.

Superstar Prabhas is set for a grand entry with Telugu thriller Salaar. Prashanth Neel, who helmed the blockbuster KGF, is on the director’s seat with Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, Tinnu Anand and Ramachandra Raju joining the cast. All set for a theatrical release on September 28, Prabhas fans are all geared up. With hashtag ‘box-office bulldozer’ trending, Salaar, which translates into chief, has been made at an estimated budget of Rs 250 crore.

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#Shah Rukh Khan