Producer Ritesh Sidhwani says he is open to discussing the impending box-office clash of his Shah Rukh Khan-starring Raees with Salman Khan-led Sultan with Yash Raj Films’ head, Aditya Chopra.
The Excel Entertainment chief said releasing the two big films on the same day is not a good idea.
“Right now, I have full intention to release Raees on Eid next year. 90 per cent of the shoot is over. By November, the film will be complete. There is no ego. I am very fond of Yash Raj films and close to them,” he said.
“I have not got a chance to speak to them but let them start filming Sultan. Maybe Salman, me, Shah Rukh, Farhan and Adi [Chopra] should sit down together and discuss it. It is not beneficial for either one of us to come [out] on the same day. Business of both the films will be hampered. We will take a call.”
Raees, which also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, is being directed by Rahul Dholakia.
Sultan, which will see Salman Khan as a wrestler for the first time on the big screen, will be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan fame. The movie will begin shooting later this year.
The filmmaker said it did not take him much time to convince Khan, 49, to star in Raees as he liked the line, ‘Baniye Ka dimaag aur miyanbhai ki daring’ [The intelligence of a Bania and the daring of a Muslim].
“I called up Shah Rukh and told him there is this director Rahul Dholakia, who has made fine films. I told him the script is wonderful and exciting. I just gave him one line from the film Baniye ka dimaag and miyanbhai ki daring.
“He said, ‘I am doing the film’. That’s exactly what happened and we both started laughing on the phone. He heard the script after a few weeks and said ‘Let’s start shooting the film’,” Sidhwani said.
