Director Prashanth Neel extended a public apology to Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani for scheduling the release of Prabhas’ action thriller Salaar on the same date as the much-anticipated Dunki. Neel clarified that while the team had no intention of creating a clash with the big-budget Hirani film, astrological advice received by the Salaar team led them to select the Christmas 2023 release date, which had been previously claimed by Dunki.
“That was the only date we had,” Neel shared, explaining the unique circumstances surrounding the film’s release decision. “We apologise to (Dunki’s) team also. They announced the (release date) first. It is not a good thing for anybody to be putting their movie on the date which has been announced (by someone else). They had announced the film’s release date a year before so apologies from the whole team of Salaar to the team of Dunki,” he told News 18.
Neel emphasized that the clash was unintended, particularly given the respect he holds for both Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani, whom he described as ‘colossal’ figures in the industry. “We did not want a situation like that to come. They are obviously colossal, Shah Rukh sir and Rajkumar sir are colossal. We didn’t want a situation like that. But it came up only because of the astrology and everything else,” he added, referring to the unique guidance that led to Salaar’s release timing.
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The box office clash fueled fan wars on social media, with fans of Prabhas and Shah Rukh Khan trading jabs online as each side championed their favorite star. Despite the frenzy among fans, both actors refrained from addressing the fan-led skirmishes.
In terms of box office performance, Dunki secured an impressive opening weekend with a collection of Rs 101.50 crore. Meanwhile, Salaar topped it with a staggering Rs 209 crore, sparking curiosity among trade experts over which film will ultimately dominate the Christmas box office season.
