The distributors and exhibitors in Pakistan have abandoned the release of Akshay Kumar and Shahrukh Khan’s movie due to the interest of Pakistan film industry. Akshay Kumar’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai-2’ and Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Chennai Express’ are slated to release during Eid on August 8 worldwide but Pakistan banned the release of these two movies on this festive day as four Pakistani movies are slated to release on Eid. Pakistani filmmakers want their four films to release on August 8- 'Josh', 'Ishq Khuda', 'War' and 'Mera Naam Afridi'.
Leading distributor Abdul Rashid, who controls the large section of the distribution chain across the border, informed the decision of Pakistani’s film distributors to two production houses, Balaji and UTV.
Expressing disappointment with the developments, a source said, "Theatres in Pakistan generate maximum revenue from Hindi films. So it is really sad that this time, they did a volteface. UTV and Balaji tried reasoning with the filmmakers, but to no avail."
Not releasing the two movies on this particular date means a loss of Rs 20 crore. When contacted, Abdul Rashid told, "Yes, we are not releasing Chennai Express and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai - 2 in Pakistan. Our government wants to protect the interests of the Pakistan film fraternity."
He also added, “We don't mind rescheduling the two films to August 15. But piracy would have reduced the business prospects of the two films by then." Admitting that exhibitors would stand to gain by accommodating the two big-ticket films, Rashid however said, "We cannot overrule our government's decision."
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