With three big-ticket movies, Akshay Kumar’s Mission Mangal, John Abraham’s Batla House and Prabhas’ Saaho, lined up for release on the Independence Day 2019, the industry was set to witness one of the biggest box-office clashes of all time. However, recent reports claim that Saaho has been postponed by a few weeks, leaving ample breathing space for Mission Mangal and Batla House.
According to reports in a leading tabloid, if at all the film has been moved, it is because of the pending VFX work. The final edit, a source in the report has been quoted as saying, is not locked yet and that the final call pertaining to the film’s release date will be taken only when the VFX work is completed.
#Saaho postponement (due to VFX delays) is in fact a good news. It is going to avoid 3-way clash in Bollywood and will be sure to get a Humongous (probably solo) release!. pic.twitter.com/fObEeY1NeC
— AndhraBoxOffice.Com (@AndhraBoxOffice) July 16, 2019
The source told the tabloid, “The team is yet to lock the final edit. The visual effects to enhance the action scenes is complicated and taking longer than expected. The producers are now contemplating pushing the release to August 30 or September 6 if they don’t make the deadline. The final call will be taken only once they get a confirmed date of completion from the VFX company.”
Distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal is confident that Saaho has been delayed. Saying that exhibitors have been hearing rumours of the film’s postponement since Tuesday night, he added, “Though an official announcement is yet to be made, we are almost sure that the film won’t be arriving on August 15, leaving Mission Mangal and Batla House to fight it out.”
Buzz is 120 cars have been used for action sequences of #Prabhas #Saaho.
Only for #AbuDhabi chase, 56 cars & a specially made truck were used.
Heavy duty action on cards for this Independence day. Visual Extravaganza #Saaho all set to release on 15th August 2019 pic.twitter.com/8l1oZhpDMb
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) July 16, 2019
Furthermore, now that Saaho seems to be pegged back, the makers of Telugu films, ‘Evaru’ and ‘Ranarangam’, both of which were slated to come out on August 23 and August 2 respectively, stunned the industry insiders by announcing an August 15 release.
An 8-minute action sequence in #Prabhas 's #Saaho costs a whopping ₹ 70 Crs.. This was shot in #AbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/sOg6bMjJe5
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) July 16, 2019
This bold move from the makers of films more or less confirms that Saaho will be postponed. Nobody would have liked to clash with Prabhas after Bahubali, but now that the window is open, it seems Saaho’s loss will be aforementioned Telugu films’ gain.