Papa Roshan gets fierce at Team Raees!

The day has come, where the two bulls of Bollywood are banging horns against each other at the box office. The Hrithik starrer Kaabil and Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Raees. News until now had indicated that this clash would be a peaceful one as the films will have a 50-50 screen sharing ratio, until Rakesh Roshan woke up to the morning news and smelled the coffee, and all hell broke loose!

If the original decision was a 50-50 screen ratio, then how did Raees ended up being shown on 2700 screens, and Kaabil just 2200?

This is what Rakesh Roshan had to say

“It’s very unfortunate I got up in the morning I saw in the papers. It’s 45-55 now. I don’t know for sure. It is not correct. I am very shocked”

Was there an agreement of some kind between you and the theatre owners?

“I don’t get into any kind agreement because I never thought this would come my way. It’s very unfair because all over the world, be it Dubai or London or Australia or new Zealand, they have all gone for 50-50 except our industry in India even after giving me assurances.”

“I smelt something is wrong somewhere. So I showed them two reels because they always feel I make wrong films. But then when I succeed, they all congratulate me. For Kaabil also the same thing happened. Because this time we had a strong opponent. In my entire career, I have never shown my film but I had to show one hour of the film to change their mindset. But still in the morning when I saw this I was hurt that after giving assurances that it will go 50-50 they have still done what they had to do.” said the perceptive Rakesh Roshan.

“I thought this industry will get mature day by day with all the corporates coming in. But it is getting dirtier and dirtier and we are going backward. I have told them to avoid such clashes because it’s not good and ethical for the film. The producers are losing, distributors are losing, exhibitors are losing, the audience is losing, who has so much money to go and watch two films? You are depriving so many people of so many things. The only way to go about it is by going 50-50. So that the others, when they come with such clashes they will think twice”

Roshan’s take on the changing nature of friendships in the industry is as follows: “Everything is getting dirty and unethical. No professionalism, no friendship, it’s (Bollywood) not a close knit family at all. It was in my time. Jeetendra, me and Rishi Kapoor are best of friends even today. That was the industry we were working in. Now just shaking hands that also we don’t know what they mean. Putting up a smile and kissing each other’s cheeks in front of the media. That’s not friendship.”

In spite of all that has happened, Rakesh Roshan is not taking any preventive measure and stated that Kaabil will speak for itself.

Now this is what you call product confidence!