Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui clash at the box office

Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui who aren’t known to have the most cordial of relations after their joint stint in Lunchbox may have another reason to battle at the box office — their films Madaari (directed by Nishikant Kamat) and Te3n (directed by Sujoy Ghosh) respectively, are set to hit the screens on the same day.

Irrfan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar, who is also the producer of the film said, “Sujoy is a dear friend, I personally wouldn’t have wanted the films to clash. But we couldn’t have shifted the date, as we were absolutely not aware of it. Also, there is such a dearth of stories, that I am sure the audience can watch two good stories in a day.”

Madaari’s story is very close to Irrfan, she tells us. The actor turned down several offers so this film could materialise —including one from dear friend Tigmanshu Dhulia for Bullet Raja.

“It is a story Irrfan and I believed in. Some stories are personal and some are universal, this one is the latter. He turned down many offers to accommodate Madaari,” says Sutapa adding, “We had a very restrained budget, but we did the best we could with it. Because someone has to tell these stories. We are proud to be part of the change that Indian cinema is going through.”

Speaking of trailer reactions comparing the film to Arvind Kejriwal’s story, she says, “You see the trailer, it’s definitely not based on Arvind Kejriwal.”

Nawaz’s last two films Badlapur and Bajrangi Bhaijaan played out well at the box office, much like Irrfan’s Piku and Talvar last year. How 2016 unfolds for the two, one will find out with the release of Te3n and Madaari respectively.