Bollywood has long celebrated Diwali as a major holiday, and the ticket counters start to buzz like never before. Shah Rukh Khan once dominated this occasion with his holiday releases, but since 2014, there hasn’t been an SRK movie out on Diwali. Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar, two of the most bankable stars in the business today, will square off this time (Ram Setu).
Thank God has a trailer, but Ram Setu’s producers have just released a teaser so far. Therefore, all of the observations that follow will be based on these two promotional pieces as well as some current box office performance data for the stars.
Before getting into the article, here’s how our Diwalis looked pre-pandemic:
2011: Ra. One
2012: Jab Tak Hai Jaan VS Son Of Sardaar
2013: Krrish 3
2014: Happy New Year
2015: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
2016: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil VS Shivaay
2017: Golmaal Again
2018: Thugs Of Hindostan
2019: Housefull 4
All of these movies feature actors who have unquestionably been among the top 5 Bollywood stars over the years (Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, etc.), yet the level of buzz they generated before to their releases was different. The new releases don’t really give the impression that they’ll be able to build up enough excitement to go all-out like the ones before them.
Why is that taking place? This could be directly attributed to the audiences’ expectations that “Pan-Indian” films like KGF, Pushpa, RRR, and Brahmastra must provide a magnificent cinematic experience in order to draw them to the theatres.
Is that it, though? Nope. A decent family picture can still be successful at the box office, but it needs to be compelling enough to entice audiences away from their favourite “OTT” services and into a theatre. But do you folks believe Ram Setu and Thank God, starring Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, would be sufficient to be a box office success?
The marketing for both movies doesn’t really raise expectations for what the actual content will be like. The humour in Thank God doesn’t appear to land effectively from what is seen in the trailer, therefore it would need a strong emotional connection.
Ram Setu’s preview does offer some optimism, but the VFX raises a crucial concern about how it will seem on a large screen. The nicest aspect of the teaser is still the background music, although the plot of the movie is still unknown.
Regarding their films, neither Akshay Kumar nor Ajay Devgn are at the peak of their careers. We don’t need to mention Akshay Kumar’s films after 2020 because Ajay Devgn provided a very unimpressive performance in Bhuj and a barely passable one in Runway 34.
Are you truly interested in seeing Akshay Kumar’s Ram Setu and Ajay Devgn’s Thank God compete against one another? To make the most of your trip to the theatre this year, would you choose to forgo both and wait for better options like Cirkus or Avatar: The Way Of Water? Post your comments in the space provided below.
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