Subhash K Jha (DNA; October 13, 2015)

After a success in an ensemble cast in Anees Bazmee’s Welcome Back, John Abraham wants to make sure his solo-hero release Rocky Handsome is glitch-free and the date has been pushed forward from October 2 to February 5. And it isn’t only because John did not want his pairing with Shruti Haasan to be repeated so quickly after Welcome Back.

RH director Nishikant Kamat explains, “The Shruti-John pair was one reason for the postponement. My film got delayed because I got busy with Drishyam.”

The director offers another reason for the delayed release. “The film requires a whole lot of VFX. We can’t rush through that. Besides another big film Singh Is Bliing was released on October 2.”

Kamat feels biggies clashing at the box-office spells trouble. “We want to avoid any clash. So far, our date (Feb 5) is ours only. But you never know. Another film may decide to jump in to create an unnecessary clash.”

Is he referring to the way Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale has jumped in to give competition to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani out of nowhere? Avers Nishikant, “Any clash is unhealthy. We’ve happily gone to next year. It gives John and me time to work harder on our film.”