With Maharashtra government announcing reopening of cinemas it’s been raining good news for all cinema makers and goers this past weekend. Most of the films have now got a new release date and we can only hope that it remains the way it is with covid-19 not playing a spoil sport again.
While several tentpole titles like Akshay Kumar’s ‘Sooryavanshi’, John Abraham’s ‘Satyameva Jayate 2’, Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Jersey’ and many more have set their theatrical release dates, there’s one huge clash going to happen in 2021 that’s got our utmost attention – Ranveer Singh’s ‘83’ and Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa’ are all set for a giant face off at box office this Christmas!
Both ‘83’ and ‘Pushpa’, releasing in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, have a lot going around with a high-profile cast and crew, amazing visuals and gripping storylines and most importantly the massive anticipation among the fans. Let’s see if one’s got an upper hand on the other or not!
Star cast:
‘83’ stars Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev in the lead and co-stars Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Boman Irani, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Harrdy Sandhu, Ammy Virk, Amrita Puri, Nishant Dahiya and Sahil Khattar. Now this looks like an eclectic group of talented actors from across industries coming together to make this film a blockbuster.
On the other hand ‘Pushpa’ is no less when it comes to bringing in star value. Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil, Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj and more make the film a star-studded affair with a lot to look out for.
A noticeable difference in the lead cast of each film is their regionality but in times when the audience has not only become more inclusive and receptive but also watches out for good content, this difference should barely have any effect.
Hence, both films get equal points for their respective star cast.
Crew:
National Award winning director Kabir Khan who is known for blockbuster Bollywood films like ‘New York’, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye’ and more has directed ‘83’ which he co-wrote with Sanjay Puran Singh. Aseem Mishra (‘Dabangg 2’, ‘Dream Girl’) is handling the cinematography with Rameshwar S. Bhagat doing the editing. The background score is by Julius Packiam (‘Sultan’, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’) while Pritam has composed songs for the film. Kabir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Vishnuvardhan Induri and Sajid Nadiadwala have bankrolled ’83’.
Coming to ‘Pushpa’, it is written and directed by Sukumar (‘Arya’, ‘100% Love’, ‘Rangasthalam’) who is known his complex, multi-layered style and is thus considered to be one of the intelligent screenwriters in the industry. Devi Sri Prasad has composed music for the film and this will be the tenth film of him collaborating with Sukumar. History is proof that the combo of these two masters of their fields has been nothing less than blockbuster. Cinematography is done by Mirosław Kuba Brożek and Karthika Srinivas is handling the editing. ‘Pushpa’ is produced by Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers along with Muttamsetty Media.
The crew of both the films have done extremely well in their own industries and while one director is known for full Bollywood entertainer, the other is known for intelligent filmmaking.
Here again, the two crews are head to head with each other and therefore each gets a point.
Plot:
Ranveer Singh’s ‘83’ is a biographical sports drama centred around the historic 1983 cricket World Cup win by Indian team led by Kapil Dev. The story will feature the journey of the team capturing all the emotions, hard work, dedication, sacrifices and all things in between that led to the incredible and iconic victory. The premise for the film looks a success in itself given the fandom for the sport of cricket in the country and moreover it presents the great opportunity to see and know all that went into bringing the cup home, something that was beyond the lifetime of many in this new generation who love cricket.
Coming to Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa’ which will be made in two parts, the story of the film is based on red sanders smuggling in the Seshachalam Hills of the Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh. The action-thriller genre of the film makes it up for an interesting watch, given the increasing interest of the Indian audience in the category that likes staying on the edge.
Going by the current trend, the massive scale of the film and the unique intelligent style of the filmmaker, ‘Pushpa’ seems to take an edge when it comes to storyline. On the other hand, ‘83’ is like a safe bet as anything related to cricket works fine if not wonders with the Indian audience.
So, it’s a +1 for Pushpa for the storyline.
Buzz:
Both 83 and Pushpa are big and much awaited pan-India titles with huge expectations. As discussed above both centre around themes that go well with the Indian viewers but there are certain things that have shifted the dynamics a bit in favour of Pushpa when it comes to hype for the film.
Firstly, the massive success of Yash’s ‘KGF’ proved that one need not be from Bollywood to give a blockbuster national hit and secondly, covid made people stay at home and explore content beyond the usual on OTT platforms. Now people are not stuck to one type or one language and want to invest time and money in good content.
All this works in favour of Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa’ which has been made to target the audience across the nation and has received a very positive response for the same going by the social media. The first single and the looks revealed from the film until now have been received well and go on to show the massive scale of the film.
Once again ‘Pushpa’ has an upper hand when it comes to buzz for the film.
Overall, ‘Pushpa’ seems to have a slightly upper hand for now and it will interesting to see its big clash with ‘83’ at the box office this Christmas.
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