Waar vs Boss: Shaan beats Akshay at screen space

Both films will be releasing on the first day of Eid.

KARACHI: After Ishq Khuda’s battle against Chennai Express on Eidul Fitr, which was eventually (and predictable) won by the undefeated king of Bollywoood SRK, this Eid will also see another cinematic war between India and Pakistan. Bilal Lashari’s much-awaited Waar that stars Lollywood’s only reining actor Shaan will be facing Khiladi Akhsay Kumar’s Boss. Although, Kumar hasn’t faced much success on the box-office in recent times, he has a huge pool of fans in the country. Nonetheless, Waar has been in the news since its inception and is clearly one of the most significant movies to come out of Pakistan on the theme of terrorism. The film promises to show some technology-driven, thrilling action sequences and is made in English, a feature that has created quite a buzz among local audiences.

While Boss will be showcased on 35 screens across the country, Waar will lead with 45 screens. Waar was earlier slated for a 53 screens release all across Pakistan but has now been allotted 45 screens whereas the exhibitor interest towards Boss has increased the number drastically, giving it a great exhibition overall. Surely, their on screen battle will be something to look forward to.

Both films will benefit from each other’s footfall. But given that some of the most highly-grossing screens are also owned by the distributors of Waar, the film has a definite box office advantage over Boss. One can also not undermine Kumar’s star power and the crazy gimmicks that seem to be creating an interest in the film. The box office’s love for the Akshay-Sonakshi duo will play a pivotal role in attracting audiences to cinemas — something that Waar might fail at doing. While the use of English language is intriguing for Waar, it also acts as a drawback as not everybody in Pakistan will opt for a feature film that is not in Urdu or Punjabi.

Though the returns are not expected to be as great as they were with Chennai Express on Eidul Fitr, it will definitely be interesting to see the total box office collection that the two films will earn together.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2013.

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