Has YRF’s Qaidi Band stolen the thunder from Farhan Akhtar starrer Lucknow Central? : Bollywood News

Some 2 weeks ago, Yash Raj Films held a very unique event where they introduced their two young talents – Aadar Jain and Anya Singh. Aadar is the grandson of yesteryear’s actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor and cousin of Ranbir Kapoor. Anya Singh meanwhile has no film connections and she hails from Delhi and was spotted by YRF casting director Shanoo Sharma.

Has YRF’s Qaidi Band stolen the thunder from Farhan Akhtar starrer Lucknow Central?

Interestingly, nowhere in the event did they reveal which film they are a part of. Today, it was finally revealed that both Aadar and Anya would debut in YRF’s Qaidi Band, a film directed by Habib Faisal. From the trailer, it is evident that Qaidi Band deals with a bunch of undertrials in a prison who form a music band as their only hope to freedom.

What has raised eyebrows among moviegoers and people in the industry is that the theme of Qaidi Band is eerily similar to that of Lucknow Central, starring Farhan Akhtar and Diana Penty. Lucknow Central produced by Nikkhil Advani and directed by newcomer Ranjit Tiwari, also deals with a bunch of prisoners forming a music band in a jail! The only minor difference is that Diana is not playing a prisoner. She plays a NGO worker who probably motivates Farhan and his team, comprising of Punjabi actor-singer Gippy Grewal and Filmistaan actor Inaamulhaq, to form the band.

What’s also interesting is while Lucknow Central is all set to release on September 15, Qaidi Band will arrive in theatres before the former, on August 25! Despite the fact that August 25 will see the release of Sidharth Malhotra-Jacqueline Fernandez’s action entertainer A Gentleman and Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s quirky rustic drama Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, YRF is taking the chance and clashing Qaidi Band with these two films. It is seen as an attempt to release the film before Lucknow Central hit theatres and its promotions gear up.

Hence, Qaidi Band has a first-mover advantage since its releasing first. In fact, Lucknow Central might be heavily affected, especially if Qaidi Band gets appreciated by moviegoers. Last year, both Sultan and Dangal seemed similar as both dealt with wrestling and were based in Haryana. Dangal arrived around five months after Sultan during which the latter’s wave had died down. If Lucknow Central arrives in just three weeks after Qaidi Band, it can prove detrimental.