And now, our sources in the exhibition sector have confirmed foul play from the team of Dunki when it comes to showcasing in North India. “Salaar team is being very reasonable with their demands – they are ready to share shows with Dunki and even give them the major chunk of shows in national chains. However, the Dunki team is going a step ahead by asking for 100 percent showcasing in single screens,” a trade source told us.
Salaar Makers Refuse To Release Film In Certain PVR Inox And Miraj Theatres, Allege Preference For Dunki: ‘We Want The Game To Be Fair’
Over the last 20 years, the Hindi Film Industry has seen several clashes at the box office and some of them have gone ugly too. The latest to enter the list of unfair trade practices is the clash between the Shah Rukh Khan-led Rajkumar Hirani directorial, Dunki, and the Prabhas starrer Salaar. While Dunki releases on December 21, Salaar will arrive a day later on December 22.
The single-screen owners refused to budge onto the demands of Team Dunki. “The single screen owners have held back on the demands and are not opening advance bookings for Friday. However, in a shocking turn of events, India’s biggest exhibition chain, PVRInox, has gone behind the back of Salaar team and struck a deal with Shah Rukh Khan to allot exclusive showcasing in all their single-screen properties. The showcasing agreement has been done by PVRInox at the request of Shah Rukh Khan,” the trade source told us.
According to the source, Shah Rukh Khan made a call to the owner of PVRInox, Ajay Bijli and struck a lucrative deal to get a preference over Dunki in all their single screens. “This has irked Hombale Films and they have now decided to withdraw their release from all PVRInox and Miraj properties in South India. They will also be taking action against PVRInox and Ajay Bijli for unfair trade practices under undue influence of team Dunki,” the source told us.
A source from Hombale terms this an “Anti-Competitive Agreement” between Dunki and PVRInox and this will not go down well with them in the near future. While team Salaar is being fare with show allocations for Dunki even in South India, the Dunki team is being unreasonable making demands that none can match up to.