After Haider, Vishal Bhardwaj takes on the big guys again

Last year, the October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) weekend saw two big releases — director Siddharth Anand’s Bang Bang (2014) and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider (2014).

Last year, the October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) weekend saw two big releases — director Siddharth Anand’s Bang Bang (2014) and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider (2014). Even though the trade was sceptical about Bhardwaj’s decision to release his film alongside a commercial venture featuring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, the Shahid Kapoor-starrer held its own, and proved its mettle at the box office.

Now, the trade is abuzz with rumours that claim that Bhardwaj plans to release his upcoming production (directed by Meghna Gulzar) on the Gandhi Jayanti weekend this year as well. His film stars Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sensharma and Tabu in pivotal roles.

If Bhardwaj goes ahead with his plan to release the movie on October 2, his film will be pitted against two commercial potboilers starring Akshay Kumar and John Abraham, respectively. While the release date of Akshay’s film was announced several weeks ago, John’s movie was moved to October 2, so the makers could maintain a ‘proper gap’ between his two releases (he will be seen in the sequel to Welcome, 2007, in May this year). Bhardwaj couldn’t be reached for a comment. The film-maker has also composed the music for his production, while the veteran writer, Gulzar, has penned the lyrics. It is apparently based on a real-life double murder case.