The RUSTOM vs MOHENJO DARO clash has just happened and another big clash is waiting to happen next year. The Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer (untitled) directed by Imtiaz Ali is scheduled for an August 11th 2017 release date and an Akshay Kumar starrer CRACK seems to be announced for an Independence Day 2017 release. This date falls on a Tuesday so it may not be clash in the truest sense but the dates are the same vicinity and the screens issue will be there if this was to happen and they release four days apart. It could be that CRACK is actually 11th August and the poster is not portraying the actual date. This year saw the Akshay Kumar starrer easily get the better of the Hrithik Roshan starrer MOHENJO DARO but to take on a Shah Rukh Khan starrer is a different ball game.

Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar have clashed twice before with DAAVA vs YES BOSS in 1997 and DON vs JAAN E MANN in 2006 with Shah Rukh Khan coming out on top both times. The last time that Shah Rukh Khan actually lost a clash was 2001 with ASOKA vs INDIAN and in those days Sunny Deol, the lead of INDIAN, had a huge initial pull. There was the DILWALE vs BAJIRAO MASTANI clash at the end of last year where the Shah Rukh Khan starrer DILWALE did less business in India but here the defeat was not Shah Rukh Khan's but of the film as far as domestic business was concerned. The clout of the star ensured a far bigger opening in India and Worldwide it was still a bigger grosser despite the film not being liked as to BAJIRAO MASTANI which was said to be hugely appreciated.

The Shah Rukh Khan starrer is an Overseas musical love story on a big canvas. So if CRACK was a potential action blockbuster a la ROWDY RATHORE this clash could have been a real battle but it seems a Neeraj Pandey film from the poster who has made films like SPECIAL 26 and BABY which did not find appreciation at the box office with 65 crore and 82 crore respectively and also found no appreciation on television being among the worst Akshay Kumar performers. They were targeted at the multiplex audience and so it will probably be the same again but it would be tough to survive on just multiplexes if it comes up against the Shah Rukh Khan film.

Though it has to be noted that the last two Shah Rukh Khan starrers Dilwale and Fan have also not done well at 140 crore nett and 84 crore nett respectively. But these are still way ahead of BABY and SPECIAL 26. In fact DILWALE is ahead of all Akshay Kumar starrers including ROWDY RATHORE in raw numbers though obviously not inflation adjusted figures. The Shah rukh Khan starrer has just gone on the floors a few weeks back while the Akshay Kumar starrer CRACK is yet to start shooting.