'Why would SRK restrict business of his film?: Sanjay Gupta on Raees-Kaabil clash

Mumbai: Sanjay Gupta had a colossal flop in his last directorial, 'Jazbaa,' but the actor still managed to fetch one of the biggest films of his illustrious career, 'Kaabil,' starring Hrithik Roshan.

However, the film, like Hrithik's own 2016 debacle, 'Mohenjo Daro,' is headed for a titanic clash at the Republic Day, 2017, box-office ,with Rahul Dholakia's Shah Rukh Khan-Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer 'Raees'.

While Rakesh Roshan, who's producing 'Kaabil,' had announced the date first, the SRK starrer had to be pushed over by a good six months, owing to multiple delays.

While both the parties have been vehemently standing by their decision, industry insiders have been trying hard to avert the clash.

"In all fairness, Rakeshji did announce the release date first. SRK is a man of principle, a man of his word, he is a Pathan. I can't fathom SRK stepping on someone's toes. I don't know if the films will come on the same day or not but I definitely think they shouldn't. If someone else had announced a film before him, there's no way in hell that Rakeshji would release his film on the same date. That is the respect we need to accord one another," Sanjay admitted candidly, in an interview with Mumbai Mirror.

While there's been talk of the impending clash between Hrithik and SRK, the filmmaker rubbished all speculations, saying, "Hrithik is 10 years younger than Shah Rukh. So I don't see this as a competition. Shah Rukh's competition are Salman (Khan) and Aamir (Khan). Both the films won't do more than a Rs 150-crore in a week because we have a Rs 300 crore box office window at best. When Salman releases a film solo, he gets Rs 300 crore.

"Shah Rukh should be looking at getting Rs 300 crore for his film and I'm sure he is looking at that possibility. I don't understand why he would restrict the business of his own film. This clash is also going to be detrimental to them."

Well, the films seem all set for an inevitable face-off, but both the films, with their immense hype and star-power, could both survive the ordeal.