The box office face-off between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 this Diwali brought high tensions behind the scenes, as both films vied for screens and audience attention. Bhushan Kumar, head of T-Series and producer of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, recently shared the challenges he faced in a candid chat with Connect Cine. Kumar admitted to having “a lot of arguments” with the Singham Again team, claiming that the distribution of screens was “unfair” and led to a heated pre-release battle.
Screen Allocation Dispute
Kumar revealed that his team raised concerns about the screen distribution, feeling that both films should have received a 50-50 allocation based on their similar audience survey ratings. Despite this request, Kumar suggested that personal interests tied to the distributors of Singham Again influenced the decision, impacting the screen share for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. To counter this, he proposed opening advance bookings to gauge audience interest, a move that ultimately helped secure a strong opening for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which debuted with over Rs 36 crore despite the competition.
Discussions with Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty
In an attempt to avoid the clash, Kumar approached *Singham Again* star Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty for a compromise, though the discussion didn’t yield a solution. Kumar explained that delaying *Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3* wasn’t an option due to a pre-set OTT release commitment, while Devgn and Shetty also had time-sensitive reasons. Given *Singham Again*’s theme inspired by the Ramayana, a Diwali release was critical for their narrative.
Lessons from the Clash
Both films ultimately emerged as box office successes, crossing the Rs 200 crore mark in their 12-day runs. Kumar acknowledged that although tensions ran high, the *Singham Again* team assured him that *Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3* would not suffer losses. Reflecting on the experience, he emphasized that clashes between major releases should be avoided in the future to maximize industry-wide success and prevent similar friction.
Despite the initial rivalry, the simultaneous success of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 underscores the strength of both films, proving that with audience support, well-made movies can thrive even in competitive conditions.
