The big box-office face-off this 15 August is going to be between Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Prabhas. The three actors are going to compete for screens and audience attention with the release of their films Mission Mangal, Batla House and Saaho respectively. Though Mission Mangal also features big names such as Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu and Sonakshi Sinha, one can make out from the poster of the film that it’s being marketed on Akshay’s star power.
Over the years, Akshay’s films such as Gold, Toilet: EK Prem Katha and Rustom have all released around 15 August or Independence Day celebrations and each of these films have turned out to be super hits. While traditionally, the release date of 15 August has always been an Akshay Kumar favourite, this year he will face some heat from John Abraham. Mission Mangal has everything going for it - big stars, a patriotic high based on India’s Mars mission, a background score of Vande Mataram - typical Independence Day fare that’s been working at the box-office
If you remember last year, John Abraham’s Satyamev Jayate released on 15 August and went on to become a sleeper hit, so the makers of Batla House are hoping to repeat that success.
John Abraham-starrer Batla House directed by Nikkhil Advani, is inspired by the controversial Batla House operation conducted by the Delhi Police in 2008. Mission Mangal may not find many takers in the mass market and that’s probably where Batla House will score. The trailer of Batla House promises the usual mainstream fare - action, punch dialogues, item songs - all of this wrapped with the “based on real events” tag, which as we have seen helps get more footfalls.
However, Saaho directed by Sujeeth could spring a surprise. The biggest selling point of this action thriller is the main male lead - Prabhas. Saaho will be Prabhas’ first release after the monstrous hits Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017). The budget of Saaho is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore and has been simultaneously shot in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. Saaho marks Prabhas’ debut in Bollywood and Shraddha Kapoor’s Telugu debut. Shot in parts of Europe, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Abu Dhabi and Dubai - the trailer of Saaho had a record of over 80 million views, which is just behind the trailer of Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar’s 2.0.
With these three big releases lined up for 15 August, each film playing on its own individual strengths, the clash will be on for getting its share of screens and the audience attention. May the best win.
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