Singham Again Vs Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: Aa dekhen zara kisme kitna hai dum

It is said that when two elephants clash, the grass around them gets trampled. This Diwali is set for a clash between two hugely anticipated Bollywood releases – Rohit Shetty’s ‘Singham Again’ and Anees Bazmee’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’. Both belong to two highly successful franchises and two very different genres. If ‘Singham Again’ is a high-on-testosterone action cop drama, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ brings on the laughs and the chills at the same time as a horror-comedy.

No wonder that almost no other producer has dared to release their movies during Diwali, given the clash of these two titans. Not surprisingly, the fight for the number of screens has intensified, with T-Series (producers of ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’) approaching the Competition Commission of India, proposing a 50-50 split of screens for the two movies, as per media reports. On the other hand, the makers of ‘Singham Again’ have tied up with PVR Pictures for distribution, which gives them the advantage of having over 60% of the shows in PVR INOX theatres.

As per media reports, both the movies have already snapped up hefty streaming rights. However, advance booking numbers are yet to come in.

Let’s take a look at what the two movies have to offer to fans...

‘Singham Again’ – A multi-starrer cop universe

In the beginning, there was only Ajay Devgn, a highly bankable action star, in ‘Singham’ and ‘Singham Returns’. He joined Ranveer Singh in ‘Simbaa’ and the two then pitched in to help Akshay Kumar as he fought terrorists in ‘Sooryavanshi’. ‘Singham Again’ features half of Bollywood A-listers – Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Singh, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, among others, with Salman Khan making a cameo appearance as ‘Chulbul Pandey’ of ‘Dabangg’ fame.

‘Singham Again’ also has references of Ramayan, but how that is woven into the narrative, remains to be seen.

The five films in the ‘Singham’ cop universe garnered over Rs 1,000 crore in the Box Office.

As far as brand associations are concerned, Konica Minolta has partnered with ‘Singham Again’, which will enhance Konica Minolta’s campaign ‘We Power Your Growth’. The collaboration features exclusive content from Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, public contests, and narratives illustrating how Konica Minolta’s technology aligns with the film’s themes.

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ – Banking on horror-comedy magic

The year 2024 will be known as horror-comedy genre’s breakthrough year – with ‘Stree 2’ and ‘Munjya’ smashing all Box Office records. Taking forward this genre, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ is looking forward to carve a new narrative for ‘Monjulika’. Joining Kartik Aaryan are Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri and Vidya Balan (who makes a return after the first film). It would have been interesting to see Akshay Kumar making a return too – the actor also stars in ‘Singham Again’.

Two songs from ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ – ‘Samjho Na’ and ‘Ami je tomar 3.0’ are already creating a buzz. It would be interesting to see what new twist is given to the snazzy ‘Teri Aankhen Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ song.

It has been interesting to see how the narrative has been taken forward in this franchise, while the first ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ was actually about mental illness and not about supernatural beings, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ did have a ghost and some very spooky happenings.

Both the films in this franchise have done exceedingly well at the Box Office, with ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ garnering around Rs 85 crore and ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ earning around Rs 187 crore.

Not surprisingly, brands have come onboard to partner with ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’. In the trailer of the film Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan are shown wearing intricate jewellery. Senco Gold and Diamonds has announced its association with the film. The brand revealed on social media that the cast of the film will be adorning the exquisite jewellery from Senco collections.

QSR chain Chinese Wok, in its first-ever movie integration, has collaborated with ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ for a digital campaign. The campaign spotlights Kartik’s signature charm while showcasing Chinese Wok’s authentic Desi Chinese cuisine.

Pipe brand Astral Pipes has also associated with the films and announced it on X, stating, “Leakage ke bhoot se kyu darna, India ka No. 1 Pipe Brand hai na.”

Come November 1, it is ultimately the movie goers of this country who will decide on the fate of these two films.