The countdown for the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama, Gangubai fronted by Alia Bhatt has begun. The distributors, Pen Studios, are on the verge of closing their deals with exhibitors across the country to ensure a wide release for Gangubai. While the count is increasing by the day, the industry sources insist that Gangubai is looking to release on nearly 3000 screens in India on February 25.
This would make it the third widest release of the pandemic in India after the Akshay Kumar starrer Sooryavanshi directed by Rohit Shetty and the Ranveer Singh starrer Kapil Dev Biopic, the Kabir Khan directed 83. The two films released on 3600 and 3400 screens respectively, holding the record for being the widest release of pandemic. Gangubai is facing a mini clash from Valimai in the Hindi belts, however, it’s not much of a competition to start with. The Ajith Kumar fronted action thriller is releasing on near about 1000 screens in Hindi belts, by getting into a show sharing scenario with Gangubai in select single screens.
The Alia Bhatt starrer with an extended appearance by Ajay Devgn, will however be losing out on some screens in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu due to the release of two event films – the Pawan Kalyan entertainer, Bheemla Nayan and Ajith Kumar’s action thriller Valimai.
None the less, Gangubai will be one of the widest releases of Hindi film industries in India and the count is expected to be high in the overseas belt too, primarily due to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s impeccable reach in markets like Australia, New Zealand, UK and US. A detailed article on exact screen count and the box office prediction shall follow in a couple of days. The pricing of Gangubai is expected to be in the blockbuster slab, given that it’s among the most awaited releases of the year.
