We Indians are big on pitting people or things against each other.
North Indians vs South Indians.
Biryani vs Khichdi.
You get the picture.
But nowhere does this engineered rivalry work as much as Bollywood. For close to a century, the Hindi film industry has reveled in it. We pitted KL Saigal against Pankaj Mullick, Dilip Kumar against Raj Kapoor. Lata vs Asha. Madhuri vs Sridevi.
And of course, SRK vs Sallu Bhai.
This Friday, however, Bollywoodphiles have a treat waiting for them.
Rajkummar Rao’s Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana and Irrfan Khan’s Qarib Qarib Singlle are scheduled to release tomorrow. While both the actors have worked in commercial films, they are known more for their unconventional roles.
Team Rajkummar Rao or Team Irrfan Khan?
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When Rajkummar debuted with Dibakar Banerjee’s Love, Sex Aur Dhokha, he was called a terrific actor, parallel hero, not conventionally good looking and a lot of other things. He worked as a supporting cast alongside Aamir Khan in Talaash and Nawazuddin in Wasseypur and Shaitan. It was Hansal Mehta’s Shahid which made us sit up and notice him. Rajkummar even received National Film Award and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.
Rajkummar Rao has given us reason to believe that he is the underdog of Bollywood that has carved a space for out for himself
Rajkummar is known powerful screen presence. Having starred in supporting roles in movies like Queen, Hamaari Adhuri Kahaani, and Aligarh, Rajkummar has slowly come to age in the past year or so. 2017, was actually a watershed year for the actor where he starred in four back-to-back solo releases which included Vikramditya Motwane’s celebrated Trapped. He got rave reviews for his role in Amit Masurkar’s Newton which won Best Film At The Hong Kong International Film Festival and is India’s official entry to Oscars 2018.
Rajkummar Rao in Trapped
Credit: Indian Express
The seasoned horse
Irrfan Khan is someone who has seen it all and then some more. Like Rajkummar, even Irrfan’s journey in the film industry was not that smooth. After trying his luck in theatre and TV serials, he got his big break in Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! in 1988 but his role was edited out in the final cut. And once again after going unnoticed with several unsuccessful films, it was Asif Kapadia’s historical film The Warrior that earned him recognition. He played small roles and finally worked in Rog as the leading man. However, the film didn’t work at the box office, the actor started getting recognition in the industry.
He played the bad guy in various films including Ghaath and Aan: Men At Work, it was Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Haasil and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool that helped people notice his stellar acting prowess. Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar was declared a box-office hit. The actor stood-out as one of the most promising stars. He did not beat up guys, did not sing songs or romance any actress, but he made a place in the industry with his dry wit.
Box Office Report
Though most of Rajkummar’s films are critically acclaimed, they have not done wonders at the box office. Newton earned around Rs 20 crore, while Bareilly Ki Barfi is one of the highest earning films with Rs 34.45 crore. Talking about Irrfan Khan, most of his international and Bollywood films do a decent job at the box office. While Piku is still his best film to do a lifetime business of over Rs 78 crores, it will be interesting to see how this film will perform.
This Friday
Though it is Rajkummar Rao vs Irrfan Khan this Friday, both the movies might just end up being regular commercial potboilers. Directed by Ratna Sinha, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana also stars Kriti Kharbanda in lead role. The film is a story of two people who are about to get married but the bride runs away, leaving the groom and the whole family confused.
Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana
Directed by Tanuja Chandra, Qarib Qarib Singlle stars south actress Parvathy in lead role. The film is a rom-com and is a story of two people who meet on an online dating app and how things turn between them.
Qarib Qarib Singlle
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