Shah Rukh Khan, the king of Bollywood, is all set to rock the big screen for third time this year with his upcoming film Dunki, directed by Rajkumar Hirani. The film, which also stars Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal, is a social comedy-drama. Dunki is scheduled to release on December 22, 2023, and will mark the first collaboration between SRK and Hirani.
However, Dunki will not have a solo release as it will face a clash from another big-budget film, Salaar, starring Prabhas and Shruti Haasan. Salaar is an action-thriller directed by Prashanth Neel, who is known for his blockbuster KGF series. Salaar is expected to be a pan-India film that will cater to the fans of Prabhas across the country. However, Prabhas is coming from a series of flops whereas King Khan on the other hand is coming from back to back All Time Blockbusters.
The announcement shocked everyone since it’s a gutsy move from Hombale films. Hombale sources however claimed to show confidence in their product and distribution of Anil Thadani.
Pen Marudhar to distribute Dunki
And now as per the latest media reports, Pen Marudhar has come on board as the distributor of Dunki. “Pen will be releasing Dunki in most of the territories in India. After the historic success of Jawan, Pen will be looking to give Dunki a wide release across the country. They had several meetings with SRK and his team Gaurav Verma over the last few months and have devised a model to give Dunki an optimum release. Rajkumar Hirani and Jio have also shown complete faith in the model of SRK and team,” a source told Bollywood Hungama.
Through the meetings, Pen Marudhar has promised to give Dunki a bigger release than Salaar in North. “It’s SRK at his peak and no one can get it easy in a clash with him. The distributors and exhibitors are excited to screen the combo of SRK and Rajkumar Hirani. While the Salaar team might opt for various models to secure screens, just the combo of SRK x Hirani is enough to excite the audience,” the source told further.
Pen has started initiating conversations with the exhibitors to get showcasing in place for Dunki. Red Chillies team even met producers of Animal to ensure that same distributor Anil Thadani doesn’t arm-twist exhibitors to give them screens during the clash and ensure a fair and peaceful screen divide.
The exhibitor partners on Jawan have already extended complete support to Dunki. SRK, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, and Ajay Devgn are the OG Hindi Film Stars and the exhibitors are excited to support their evergreen superstars,” the source concluded.
Pen Marudhar Entertainment is a leading distribution company that has acquired the rights of Dunki for most of Indian territories. The company has previously distributed films like RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Badla, Dream Girl 2 and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke.
Salaar, on the other hand, is being distributed by UV creations and Anil Thadani in Hindi belt. The makers of Salaar have recently announced their new release date and box office clash with Dunki, with a poster featuring Prabhas in a fierce avatar.
Karan Johar Changes Release Date Of Sidharth Malhotra’s Yodha For Shah Rukh Khan, Prabhas
Yodha, which is scheduled to release on December 15, will move to another date. A source told another publication, “Yodha is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. Karan realized that it’ll be difficult for Yodha to retain screens in the second week once Dunki and Salaar arrive in cinemas. Moreover, it’ll become challenging even for Dunkiand Salaar’s distributors since theatres would not want to lose out on Yodha, especially if it does well.”
The source continued, “Karan Johar has a long association with Shah Rukh Khan, which is well known. Also, he’s close to Prabhas as well since KJo presented Baahubali series in Hindi. Hence, out of respect for Shah Rukh Khan and Prabhas, he has decided to bring Yodha on some other date.”
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