In what might be the biggest box-office battle in Bollywood's history, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Bajirao Mastani and the action comedy Dilwale, co-produced by Shah Rukh Khan's company Red Chillies Entertainment are ready to go head-to-head on Thursday, December 18.
It isn't the first time that the audiences will see a clash of the titans. Past battles include Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son of Sardaar (2012), Om Shanti Om and Saawariya (2007), and Don: The Chase Begins Again and Jaan-E-Mann (2006) that pitched the respective actors and producers against each other. Unfortunately, each of these releases also saw one film annihilating the other. Lagaan and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha in 2001 happen to be the only two big films that opened on the same day and became blockbusters.
Fortunately, both the films' teams have been quite supportive of each other this time, but the fight is for screen space. Such is the power of the mega releases that even the distributors of Star Wars: The Force Awakens are reluctant to open their film in India on the same day for fear of non-availability of screens – it will release a week later.
Here’s a look at what the two films will unfold.
The actors
Bajirao Mastani
In just five years and 10 films, Ranveer Singh has carved a place for himself as a very dependable Bollywood actor. Bajirao Mastani will be his second release in 2015 after the super-hit Dil Dhadakne Do. Singh got his head tonsured, and learnt to speak Marathi and ride a horse for the film. Bajirao, he believes, is the most difficult role of his life, which is perhaps why he turned recluse for three weeks in a Mumbai hotel with just the film's script for company, to prepare for his role.
He is supported by Mahesh Manjrekar, who plays the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shahu, and Vaibbhav Tatwawdi, who essays the role of Bajirao’s younger brother.
Dilwale
Shah Rukh Khan's fans have waited all year to see him in a lead role in Dilwale. With 16.6 million followers on Twiiter, he is the second most-followed Indian around the world after Amitabh Bachchan. Even if half of them watch his film, Dilwale could become his sixth release to breach the 100-crore-rupees mark. Varun Dhawan, the second male lead in Dilwale, plays SRK's brother and was seen in the hit ABCD2 earlier this year. All of his six films have been successful, beginning from his blockbuster debut, Student Of The Year (2012). Dilwale has three established comedic sidekicks – Sanjay Mishra, Boman Irani and Johnny Lever. Vinod Khanna plays SRK's and Dhawan's dad while Kabir Bedi will be seen as Kajol's father.
The actresses
Bajirao Mastani
Deepika Padukone, who is having her moment with a series of successes, will be seen as Mastani, Bajirao's second wife, in her third release this year. Dippy's intense preparation for the role included kathak lessons from Pandit Birju Maharaj and an exhaustive archery workshop, among other things. Priyanka Chopra will enjoy her second release this year after Dil Dhadakne Do. She plays a shorter but significant role of Bajirao's first wife, Kashibai. Tanvi Azmi has gone bald for her role as Radhabai, Bajirao's mother. Sukhada Khandkekar and Anuja Gokhale will be seen as Bajirao's sisters.
Dilwale
Kajol makes a much-awaited comeback to the industry five years after Toonpur Ka Superhero (2010) and plays the lead role of Meera in Dilwale. Kajol admits to picking this role on her daughter's insistence. Nysa, her 12-year-old didn't want to see her cry in her films, but do the kind of light-hearted films her dad Ajay Devgn does. Kriti Sanon who made her debut opposite Tiger Shroff in Heropanti last year, plays Ishita, Varun Dhawan's love interest.
The plot
Dilwale
The film's plot is undisclosed, but Dilwale appears to be a love story set against a conflict between the families of the lead couple, Raj and Meera, who fall in love, separate and then reunite after 15 years. Raj's younger brother Veer, alongside Ishita adds spice to film with his love story. Many cars dash to pieces in the film, but director Rohit Shetty assures a less violent climax as compared to his other films.
Bajirao Mastani
The film tells the story of Bajirao Peshwa, the valiant commander-in-chief of the 18th century Maratha kingdom’s forces, who fought 41 unbeaten battles, the first one being at the age of 19. The focus, however, is on his love tales, first with Kashibai, whose love for her culminated in marriage, and later with Mastani, his multitalented second wife with Muslim roots, who sacrifices everything for his love. The film is based on Raau, a novel on Bajirao Peshwa.
The promotions
Bajirao Mastani
The film's promotions will go down in history as one of the most stylish and deliberate. After the release of the teaser trailer in July, Bajirao's 315th birth anniversary was celebrated with his descendants in August. September being the time for Ganesha festival in India, the producers targeted their biggest audience in Maharashtra with the launch of their first song, Gajanana, an invocation to Lord Ganesha. The human formation created for the song in Pune will be featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest for any Bollywood song launch. To target the youth, Blazing Bajirao, a unique six-episode web series to introduce the film's characters was launched on Eros Now in November followed by a game by the same name for Android and iOS in December. To reach out to the international audiences, the film's trailer was attached to the Bond film, Spectre, in the US and the UK.
Dilwale
The Dilwale team began their promotions only in October. To get the right publicity, 100 media professionals were invited to witness the film's shoot and view some of its footage at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. The film's trailer was introduced in November and latched on to Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, one of the most successful films of the year, an opportunity denied to Bajirao Mastani due to the rumoured rivalry between Bhansali and Salman Khan. Around the same time, advance bookings for the film's tickets were opened to a great response in the UAE- GCC region. The lead pair created quite a stir with their making-of-the-film videos for Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, which celebrated 20 years of its release in October, their most successful film together so far. In doing so, they created a buzz around their pairing, which turned out to be the biggest promotional tactic for Dilwale.
The history
Bajirao Mastani
Bhansali has wanted to make this film - his dream project - for the past 12 years. He had envisioned it with Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan but the couple broke up before he could cast them and the project was shelved for a while. Many other films took up his fancy before he dusted the idea in 2014, declared the ensemble cast and began work on the film. Bhansali has given his best to this 2 hour 30 minute saga which is being pitched as the Mughal-e- Azam of the millennium for its lavish sets and extravagant budget of 160 crore rupees.
Dilwale
Storywriters Sajid Samji and Farhad Samji had approached SRK with the script of Dilwale while he was shooting for Chennai Express. They were looking at the option of working with him for a sequel to Chennai Express as well. Dilwale happened first and went on floors in March 2015. Besides India, the love story has been shot in Sofia, Cape Town and a few locations in Mauritius and Iceland.
The edge
Bajirao Mastani
The trailer reveals great content, the scale and grandeur of the sets, and a lot of effort on the actors' part. Bajirao Peshwa's story is well known to many Indians and the youth has been pulled in with the Blazing Bajirao game and web series to create curiosity around the characters. Also, good period dramas are a rarity in Bollywood, so when a Bhansali film tries to fill the gap, audiences are sure to be attracted. The Singh-Padukone starrer, Goliyon Ki Raasleela – Raam Leela, also a Bhansali product, was a major box-office success two years ago, so there's no reason why the same team shouldn't produce a blockbuster again.
The winner – Dilwale
Given his past record, no one can touch King Khan, not even a master storyteller like Bhansali, when it comes to hitting the right chord with the audiences. Naysayers may argue that SRK has gone down the mediocrity route with his past few films like Happy New Year! and Chennai Express, but haven't they still been money-spinners? With Kajol and Rohit Shetty in the mix, Dilwale certainly has everything to break all box-office records and win the race.
artslife@thenational.ae
