We have heard about Clash of Titans many a times. We may be even witnessing it this Independence weekend. While it’s not a two way but three way clash we are talking about. Damn right! With Vikram’s ‘Cobra‘ finally getting a release date on August 11, the stage is set for a mighty three way clash.
There is already a two way clash between Aamir Khan‘s Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar‘s Raksha Bandhan in bollywood. Add to the mix, Vikram’s long and much awaited biggie Cobra. Cobra is said to be an action packed thriller, a whole package of entertainment at that with Vikram even sporting many unrevealed different looks. The film went on floors in the year 2019 and finally wrapped filming all the patch-works on February, 2022. Cobra officially marked 58th film of Vikram’s illustrious career and also marks KGF fame Srinidhi Shetty’s Tamil debut. However, Karthik Subbaraj directorial ‘Mahaan’ starring Vikram released earlier this year which began filming much later. Cobra is supposedly having a Pan Indian release in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. It is yet to be seen how the film manages to grab screens amidst two hindi biggies ruling the roost.
While makers of Cobra may not be targeting enough of North Indian audience, one shouldn’t forget the impact Vikram’s ‘I’ directed by Shankar had in the North. Despite minimal to no promotions Lokesh Kanagaraj‘s Vikram did decent business in North India circuits giving tough competition to Samrat Prithviraj. So one cannot truly rule ‘Cobra’ and its possible impact out of this mighty clash. Besides, Vikram is a well known actor even in North Indian circuits, credits to his hit films like Anniyan and ‘I’. Having said that the punch both Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan are going to face down South with Cobra dominating the screens will be huge enough. With Hyderabad being a crucial market even for Hindi films, one cannot rule out Cobra being a mighty competitor.
If either one or two of three manage to be bad or mediocre, the benefits the third film is going to reap is humungous. Let’s not forget how 83’s below mediocre performance literally helped Pushpa be a giant phenomenon in North India. But one important aspect is the difference in genres and target audience of the three films. While Raksha Bandhan looks like a small town social dramedy that would cater to the multiplex audience, Laal Singh chaddha is a big scale drama that is universal in language and also Aamir Khan’s come-back film, Cobra is Vikram‘s mighty big-screen comeback after a disappointing 2019 with a very in-flavour action thriller genre. However, if all three films do well for themselves, Independence day weekend could as well be a rejuvenating experience for theatres and audiences of all kind far and wide.