Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Raees’ is one movie which fans of the superstar are waiting for but its release may not happen anytime sooner. If media reports are to be believed, the makers of the crime thriller are pondering on postponing the release of the movie from January.
This rumoured plan, however, has little to do with the slates clash with actor Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Kaabil’ and more to do with the actress of the movie. According to reports, the casting of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan has caused a problem for the movie.
The wrath which Pak artistes are getting after Uri attacks on September 18, might be the reason for this delay. Apparently, the makers think that the presence of Mahira will affect the collections of the movie and so they want to push release till normalcy sets in.
Earlier, Raj Thackrey led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had called for a complete boycott on Pak artistes. The party had also threatened that they will not let the movie ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ and ‘Raees’ to release in Mumbai. Post this, they had asked for replacement of Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan respectively from the movies.
Looks like the makers of ‘Raees’ are in no mood to take these threats easily and don’t wish to jeopardise their movie because of the tensions between India and Pakistan. A source told a leading daily that the makers are really worried for their movie.
“SRK’s film is introducing Mahira. After the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) asked all Pakistani actors to return to their country in the wake of the Uri terror attacks, the makers are now worried this development can severely affect the business of the film,” he was quoted by a leading daily.
The source added that if the movie gets boycotted then it will be a huge loss for King Khan as his last movies ‘Dilwale’ and ‘Fan’ did not do well at the box office. If the movie is postponed it will be a big win for Hrithik, he added.
Directed by Rahul Dholakia and co-produced by Shah Rukh, and Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s production house Excel Entertainment, the movie was slated for release in January, 2017.