Raees vs Kaabil - Why Raees Has An Edge Over Kaabil At Box-Office

So the anticipated day is coming. We'll get to witness one of the biggest box-office clashes in the history of Indian cinema. Here's my take on why Raees has the edge in the "Raees vs Kaabil" fight.

Source - SRK's Twitter

Through the years, we've witnessed many box-office clashes. Actually, SRK is fond of clashes as it seems. His "Jab Tak Hai Jaan":


It clashed with Ajay Devgan's "Son Of Sardaar" during Diwali in 2012. In 2015, SRK's "Dilwale" went head to head against Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ranveer Singh's "Bajirao Mastani." While SRK did won the first battle but lost badly to the period drama "Bajirao Mastani."

SRK then decided to go against Salman Khan's "Sultan." The clash was avoided luckily as Raees got postponed. And here we are - another battle between two Bollywood biggies. Raees and Kaabil - both are releasing on the same date, 25th January 2017. Let's compare them then.

Source - Wikipedia

Trailer

Trailers from both camps look promising for sure. Raees looks to be a "mass-entertainer" which the single screen audience will enjoy. At the same time, Kaabil somewhat seems to be an "off-bit" film which the urban audience will prefer for sure.

But Kaabil's story seems a bit much generic. On the other hand, Raees is based on a real-life story(Spoiler!)

Remember, a 3 minutes trailer is no indication of how well made a movie is:

Verdict - Kaabil's trailer just doesn't have the same wow factor as of Raees's.

Fanbase

This is an area where SRK has a wide lead over Hrithik. No matter how SRK's last few movies (Fan, Dilwale) have performed at the box-office, his fan base is still way more than Hrithik's. The fanbase is an important indication of opening day collections.

Verdict - Simply put, Raees will take a larger opening than Kaabil.

Actors

Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui on one side and Hrithik Roshan, Ronit Roy on another side - when it comes to acting, they all are some of finest actors of this country.

But Kaabil may have an edge here because of the female lead. Yami Gautam can connect more easily with the Indian people than Mahira Khan as the later is from Pakistan. There's a bit much controversy over this matter as well. It may affect Raees.

Verdict - Kaabil has an edge in this department.

Mahira Khan

Directors

Rahul Dholakia, director of Raees has won a "National Film Award For Best Direction" for his movie "Parzania." But at the same time, he has done films like "Lamhaa" which was not received so well by the critics. Sanjay Gupta, director of Kaabil is much more experienced and has done films like "Kaante" which was well received by the critics. Kaante was based on Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs."

Verdict - A tie. Both directors have proved that they have the ability to direct good films.

Songs

Urvashi Rautela's Haseeno Ka Deewana is simply no match for Sunny Leone's Laila Main Laila. Arijit Singh's Zaalima, the other track from Raees seems to dominate over other songs from Kaabil also. Songs are one of the most important things to connect with the masses.

Verdict - Raees is a clear winner in this department.

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Logan, Guardians Of The Galaxy vol.2, The Lego Batman and Woner Woman

Spiderman, Justice League, Thor, Star Wars

Final Verdict

All in all, Raees will take in a much larger connection than Kaabil over the first weekend and possibly the first week. But thereafter, collections will solely depend upon "word of mouth." No matter who wins in the battle between "Raees vs Kaabil", the industry will win for sure.