‘Padmaavat’ vs ‘PadMan’: Which Film Has Got an Edge On 25 January?

Could the ‘Padmaavat’ vs ‘PadMan’ clash at the box-office been averted?

Deepika Padukone in Padmaavat and Akshay Kumar in PadMan.

By releasing on 25 January, just a day before the Republic Day weekend this year, a film gets a 4-day run till Sunday - enough to draw a fabulous weekend collection. Earlier, Akshay Kumar was all set to harvest the entire profits during these dates from the box-office with his new film PadMan (the other release Aiyaary just didn’t have enough buzz, it’s now been pushed to 9 Feb), but now, the release of Padmaavat on 25 January, has spoilt Akshay and Twinkle’s period party.

What PadMan Lost

Akshay Kumar on the poster of PadMan.

Till the news of Padmaavat’s new release date came by, it was a total win-win situation for the R Balki film.

• PadMan has an unusual plot and premise
• It is based on a real life story, which sells well at the box-office
• It stars Akshay Kumar who is going strong at the box-office
• It combines a social issue with entertainment, which itself is a box-office magnet (think Toilet: Ek Prem Katha)
• It’s releasing on the Republic Day weekend, which is Akshay’s strong point (think Baby, Airlift)

As a near-solo release this Akshay Kumar-Sonam Kapoor-Radhika Apte-starrer would have got a huge share of the screens. Toilet: Ek Prem Katha released in over 3200 screens and with all the positive buzz around it, Padman would have been looking at dominating around 3500 screens if not more. But now that number will be significantly cut down thanks to Padmaavat.

Which Film Has the Upper Hand?

Shahid Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in Padmaavat.

There is no argument that because of the kind of controversy that Padmaavat has provoked, there is immense curiosity about the film and this will reflect in the number of shows that the period film manages to corner in theatres.

Analysing the Padmaavat vs PadMan box-office clash, Bollywood trade expert Komal Nahta says, “With the kind of curiosity and excitement Padmaavat has generated, it is anybody’s guess that multiplexes will favour it over PadMan while allocating shows. That’s one loss for PadMan. The other loss will be when the public will make Padmaavat their first choice for the extended weekend”.

However, senior film journalist and critic Rajeev Masand disagrees, “I don’t think the clash is likely to hurt either film because there’s significant interest in both for completely different reasons. There might be a chance some audiences would gravitate towards Padmaavat as their first choice but only because one has been waiting longer for that film. But it’s a long weekend and the buzz around PadMan is just as strong and I think those that are interested in the film would watch it regardless,” he opines.

Could the PadMan vs Padmaavat Clash Have Been Averted?

In one word the answer to that question is - Yes. As things stand there are no other big ticket Bollwyood releases in January or February. “Of course, a clash could have been averted. For this, PadMan could have moved ahead but if they don’t want to move ahead, it is probably because their shifting the release date could be construed as getting scared of competition, which would lead to ego issues,” reasons Nahta.

But since PadMan had already announced its release date, wouldn’t it have been ideal for Padmaavat to choose a different date?

“Padmaavat could have released on 19th January but one doesn’t know why they didn’t opt for that date. Actually, producers of Padmaavat have suffered so much due to reasons we all know that nobody wants to now point a finger at them — and rightly so,” argues Nahta. “Had the two films come on different dates, it would have benefited the exhibitors who have already been going through a bad phase, thanks to films flopping more than running in 2017,” he ends.

Was It a Bad Move to Show Padmaavat to a Few Journalists?

Arnab Goswami was one among the chosen few who got to see Padmaavat.

To quell the protests against their film Padmaavat (while it was still Padmavati), the makers seemed to have made a not-so-well-thought-out decision of showing the film to a few senior journalists. The aim was to get their voice across to the people about how positive and non-controversial the film is. However, as we can see not only did the move prove to be futile, it also backfired since the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) reportedly got livid about it.

“I do think it was a bad move on the part of the filmmakers to isolate some journalists and show them the film earlier because it backfired. To expect Arnab Goswami to champion the film and sway public perception and perhaps also the stance of the CBFC and protesting parties - Hah! Even Arnab doesn’t have that clout,” says Masand.

The popular film critic goes on to cut them some slack, “Besides, what was the objective behind that move? If anything it further antagonized both the CBFC and the protesting parties. But I can see why, in that moment while pushed against the wall, the makers decided to go with any idea that they thought might help them. I would imagine that even they regret it in retrospect,” he says.

With the makers also now making the release date official - everyone’s gearing up watch which P film hits a high on the popularity charts. The public’s verdict will reflect in each film’s box-office numbers, but are critics going to be less harsh about Padmaavat since it had such a tough time reaching screens? Who better to answer this than Masand himself?

“I don’t think the critics are likely to go easy on it (Padmaavat) because it’s had such a difficult journey to the screen. Critics don’t and shouldn’t make such allowances or considerations. If anything I think there is a tendency to cast a closer, more critical eye.”

Rajeev Masand

So come 25 January, grab your seats, pop corn with a wish that may the best period film win.