The trend of box-office clashes isn’t new in Bollywood. But a clash among filmmakers over a movie’s release date seems to be the norm. Filmmaker Karan Johar, who is producing the Sidharth Malhotra-starrer Yodha that releases on December 15, recently said that studios and producers should “stand united in these tough theatrical times”.

The cryptic post hinted at Johar taking a dig at the makers of the Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi-starrer Merry Christmas, which is also slated for a December 15 release. 

Amused by Johar’s post, filmmaker Onir tweeted, “Big Bollywood releases get so upset when there is another big budget release the same day and they talk about how we should all care for each other in the industry, but don’t think for a second when they deprive a small budget indie film of a tiny number of good shows to survive (sic).”

Merry Christmas co-producer Ramesh Taurani says, “Mujhe nahin lagta mere liye bola hoga Karan ne.”

As far as clashes are concerned, there are enough screens in India these days. Also, both our films are completely different in terms of the genres, so both will do well.

We live in a democratic country and no one has a monopoly on a date. I feel both the films (Yodha and Merry Christmas) are quite different from each other. I hope the issue gets sorted out.

Gadar 2 aur OMG 2 (both will release on August 11) bahut alag hain. Main apni film ka second part paise ke liye nahin bana raha hoon. Back in 2001, Gadar and Lagaan also released on the same day (June 15).

I am an independent filmmaker, so I am not into all that (his film The Vaccine War releases alongside Salaar on September 28). Had a Jawan released with it, you could call that a clash.