Salman-Ranbir to clash at box office
Khan's film is due to clash with Besharam in October
Revenge is a dish best served cold. And nobody seems to know this age old adage better than Salman Khan. The latest buzz is that that the Khans (Arbaaz and Salman) are quietly getting on with the shooting of their home production Mental and plan to release it on 2 October. Incidentally, this is also the release date of the Abhinav Kashyap directed Ranbir Kapoor starrer Besharam.
This cant be a mere coincidence though. Khan has had a bone to pick with Kapoor ever since rumours flew of Kapoor's liaison with Khan's on-off girlfriend Katrina Kaif. Moreover, Kapoor's Bachna Ae Haseeno released on the same day as Khan's God Tussi Great Ho in 2008 and went on to become a success whilst Khan's release bit the dust.
And that's not enough. Khan also bears a grudge against director Kashyap for walking out of Dabangg 2 (2012), especially since Khan had put his faith in the debutant director when it came to directing his home production Dabangg (2010).
Times have changed and anything Khan now touches turns to box office gold. So its no surprise then that he's pitting his film directly against Besharam.
"This time around Salman's film has gone on the floors without any fanfare. Even the cast is being kept under wraps. The shoot has just started in Dubai and although the entire trade expected the film to be wrapped up and released on Eid (July 8), the fact is that Salman is not eyeing Eid this time," said a source to NDTV.
"Salman intends to kill two birds with one stone, as it is well known that Salman and Abhinav can't see eye to eye after Abhinav decided to leave Dabangg 2 in spite of the success of Dabangg. Salman also wants to take on Ranbir now and is not bothered by the fact that his arch enemy Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express might release on Eid," concluded the source.
Whilst not much is known about Mental, Besharam stars Pallavi Sharda, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor and sees Ranbir in a streetsmart avatar for the first time.
Watch this space to find out who wins the big clash come October.