“We are not competing with anybody” – Rustom makers on clash with Mohenjo Daro

By Joginder Tuteja -

August 4, 2016 - 11:13 AM IST

A week from now, Akshay Kumar's Rustom would be hitting the screens. The film has been super-hot ever since its announcement and the terrific promo followed by melodious songs have only increased the stocks further for the dramatic musical tale. For its makers, the film has turned out to be a jackpot even before release since the word across the trade, industry and audience is that Rustom is easily the hottest film of Akshay Kumar to be hitting the screens this year.

“We are not competing with anybody” – Rustom makers on clash with Mohenjo Daro

"Guess our marketing team is doing wonderfully well. So far, the film has been projected in just the right light and in balanced proportion. We are neither going over the top, nor subtle. The detailing has been correct and the communication to the audience has been on the right path," says Arjun N. Kapoor of KriArj Entertainment, who is truly happy with the response the film has fetched so far en route its release.

Still, the fact remains that Rustom isn't arriving solo. It has Ashutosh Gowariker and Hrithik Roshan's Mohenjo Daro to compete with.

"See, we are not competing with anybody," pronto says Virendra Arora, head honcho of KriArj, "We wanted to come on this date because of the patriotic set up of Rustom. In any case, both the films are looking good, so I don't see any harm even if they are coming together. As producers, one needs to release their films well. You don't back out because of a clash."

No wonder, the makers (including Neeraj Pandey, Shital Bhatia, Aruna Bhatia, Nittin Keni, Akash Chawla) are proceeding with the promotion and marketing like any biggie would, regardless of a clash or no clash.

"If you notice, there are no battles being fought here," says Girish Johar of Zee Studios, "Even if Rustom would have come solo, the marketing and promotion would have been on the same lines. A release on the weekend of Independence Day is just apt for our film. Ek mahaul hota hai jisme film fit baithti hai. Rustom coming on August 12, is in line with that. Also, the fact that the film is based on true events is good peg for us too. Even today, Nanavati case is studied and discussed. It is a story which changed the judiciary for the country."

Coming together of a newly formed production house with an established filmmaking company is further making this Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz and Esha Gupta starrer stand out from the crowd.

"Our collaboration with Zee has been great," says Arjun, "We have major plans in the pipeline with four films already commissioned. We have locked with studios with which we are collaborating. With Zee, we are making three of these films. We are here to learn. All knowledge comes from experience. Rustom is the first film in the right direction."