'Why should I talk to Ajay Devgn?': Anees Bazmee on Diwali box office clash between Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again

Both Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, starring Kartik Aaryan, and Singham Again, starring Ajay Devgn, are set to release in theatres this October on the occasion of Diwali.

Anees Bazmee is not in the mood to talk about box office clash of his film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 with Ajay Devgn’s Singham Again. In a new interview with Mid-Day, the director opened up on the reports that surfaced a few days ago that producer Bhushan Kumar had met Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty to discuss the possibility of whether the clash can be avoided. Anees said that he is the ‘last person to get involved’ in the box office numbers and would rather keep himself occupied with making a good film. (Also read: Rajpal Yadav flatters Vidya Balan with compliment: ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa mein main jo kuchh bhi hu…’)

Anees Bazmee talked about the release of his next film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.

What Anees said

Anees said he has not talked to anyone regarding the box office clash of the two films. “Why should I talk to him? It’s a business decision between producers, and I am just the director. Singham Again’s team is insisting on a Diwali release. Clashes are never a good idea. I know that we had announced Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’s release date a year in advance, but what can we do? I’ve always maintained that a good film doesn’t need a date to work. I’m the last person to get involved in box-office numbers and release dates. These are decisions and numbers calculated by producers and distributors," he said.

More details

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 also stars Triptii Dimri, Vidya Balan, as well as Madhuri Dixit in a role that's being kept a surprise. Madhuri and Vidya are also expected to have a dance-off in the threequel. Vidya will reprise her role of Manjulika from the first part, a blockbuster directed by Priyadarshan that released in 2007. It starred Akshay Kumar in the lead role.

The second part released in 2022, with Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani, and Tabu as the star cast. Helmed by Anees Bazmee, it became a huge hit during the pandemic. Kartik will reprise his role of ghosthunter Rooh Baba in the threequel.

Meanwhile, Singham Again is the fifth instalment of Rohit Shetty's Cop Universe and a sequel to Singham Returns (2014). The film stars Ajay alongside Akshay (who previously acted in Rohit's 2021 film Sooryavanshi), Ranveer (who is set to reprise his role from the 2018 film Simmba), Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, and Arjun Kapoor. Jackie Shroff, Shweta Tiwari, Dayanand Shetty, Siddhartha Jadhav and Ashutosh Rana also feature in the action film.