Dunki vs Salaar - Reports of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer sabotaging Prabhas film has 'no credibility,' says an industry source

The year 2023 is set to end with a bang at the Indian box office with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki clashing with Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, which stars Telugu superstar Prabhas in the lead. The emotions are running high among the fans, fueled by reports of alleged machinations to limit Salaar's screen count in the Hindi belt. 

A Bollywood portal suggests that Dunki's distributor, Pen Marudhar, issued an ultimatum to single-screen theatres in North Indian states, urging them to allocate all shows to Dunki over Salaar. There are claims that Dunki won't be released in theatres sharing shows with Salaar.

The report has stirred up the emotions of fans of Prabhas in South India. Many have expressed outrage on social media lashing out at this alleged arm-twisting tactics to undercut the box office potential of Salaar. 

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However, Vamsi Kaka, a popular celebrity manager in the Telugu film industry, has rubbished the reports alleging some Bollywood-style plot to sabotage the release of Salaar in the Hindi belt. "As of now, there is no credible information indicating that single screens are exclusively allocated to #Dunki and none to #Salaar. Both films are expected to receive fair distribution in theatres," Vamsi tweeted, putting the minds of fans of Prabhas at ease. 

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Prabhas enjoys a huge fan following in the Hindi-speaking belt, courtesy of the Baahibali films. All his recent films, irrespective of reviews, have managed to put up a strong performance in the North Indian circuit. And Salaar is also expected to become a big draw at the Hindi box office, even as SRK's Dunki is also releasing at the same time. 

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While Dunki will hit the screens on December 21, Salaar will arrive in cinemas on December 22. Dunki, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, is a light-hearted comedy that follows the struggles of undocumented migrants travelling to foreign countries for better living conditions. Salaar, directed by Prashanth Neel, is a big-scale action adventure revolving around two best friends.