While the release of Hrithik Roshan Saif Ali Khan’s cop-and-criminal cat and mouse game Vikram Vedha is just a week away, the film seems to be already facing an insurmountable hurdle. Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: I is already audiences’ chosen film on Friday September 30.
Both are big-budgeted wannabe-blockbusters . But while Vikram Vedha is a remake of a Tamil film of the same title, Ponniyin Selvan: I is an original costume drama with production values equaling and rivaling those in Rajamouli’s Baahubali.
Roshan Singh a prominent film exhibitor of Patna feels the days of the superstars in Mumbai ruling the roost are over. “Vikram Vedha cannot hope to cash in on the presence of two over-exposed Bollywood stars. Also the original Tamil film is easily available on the OTT platform.On the other hand Mani Ratnam’s film looks grand and impressive. Viewers in the North don’t know the Tamil actors like Vikram and Karthi . But who knows even the name of the actor in Karthikeya 2 which is a grand hit.Besides, Mani Ratnam is Mani Ratnam.”
With the producers of Ponniyin Selvan: I planning a massive worldwide release in multiple languages , Vikram Vedha would have to pull out some rabbits from the hat to be able to get a sizeable audience in.
Hrithik Roshan last release War in the pre-pandemic era was a hit. But Saif Ali Khan’s last theatre release Bunty Aur Babli 2 was a boxoffice dud.
