Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Or Shivaay? Which Would Get The Better Diwali Numbers?

As D Day approaches the question everybody wants answered is , which film will gets the  bigger numbers. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil(ADHM) has no dearth of marquee names , from producer-director Karan Johar to Ranbir-Anushka—true, their last film together Bombay Velvet sank without a trace but they have a collaborative and individual fan-following—to the iconic Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to, ahem, Fawad Khan who has a substantial female fan following.

Shivaay on the other hand has only Ajay Devgan and no other known names. He also directs the film which is not necessarily a cause for celebration. His previous directorial outing U Me Aur Hum sank without a trace. He looks positively ill at ease with newcomer Sayesha Saigal. But that’s not only Devgan’s problem. Ranbir Kapoor too inADHM looks terribly awkward romancing and seducing  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, although they’ve been trying hard to convince us that they are mad for each in the film.

But sorry, we are not convinced. We’ll let the film do all the talking.

It has repeatedly been noticed in the  chequered history  of the Indian boxoffice that controversies don’t necessarily translate into footfalls.It is doubtful that more people would want to see ADHM just because the MNS tried to stop it.

Says trade analyst Amod Mehra, “Diwali is a festive time when the entire family likes to be entertained. Of the two releases Shivaay being an action film has an upper edge as far as the single screen goes.However in the multiplexes Ae Dil… is bound to score better  as it caters heavily to the youth and family audiences. Finally the film having better content will prove the winner.”

Adds trade analyst Atul Mohan, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is likely to score more at the multiplexes of major metros and Shivaay will draw attention from the mass audiences  who patronize single screens. Both the films are releasing in approximately same number of screens , between 2800 to 3000 screens. Looking at the overall packaging ofADHM, Karan gives us Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and blockbuster music. The music of Shivaay hasn’t picked up that well.And  you have only one big name in the film i.e. Ajay Devgn. On paper, yes you can say that Ae Dil HaiMushkil has a definite edge over Shivaay. ADHM should open at around 15+ crorerupees  and Shivaay around  10 crores.”