Dhadak takes on The Rock

Karan Johar’s just-released Dhadak is competing with Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper at the box office. And considering how Ant-Man And The Wasp trounced Soorma last week, this may be another battle of east versus west.

Sources close to Karan’s Dharma Productions reveal that Dhadak, their much-hyped film in which Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor is making her debut opposite Ishaan Khattar, hasn’t managed to get the number of screens and shows that the production house would’ve liked.

“Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper is being released in four languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English, while Dhadak is coming out in only one language; that’s its first disadvantage. Secondly, Dwayne Johnson is a global action hero with an amputated leg and a huge fan following in India. When he speaks in Hindi, he’s no longer considered a foreigner. He’s Hollywood’s Salman Khan with a physical disability that doesn’t hamper his heroism,” an official from a leading multiplex says.

It’s become almost impossible for Hindi films to avoid clashing with Hollywood biggies since there’s a new release nearly every other week.

Suman Sinha, a leading exhibitor from Patna, believes that the competition will only intensify in the weeks to come. “Dhadak has to compete with Skyscraper, and next week’s Hindi releases will have to take on Mission Impossible. Since Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise are much bigger stars than the actors who feature in these upcoming Hindi films, there’s in for some unfair comparisons,” she says.

It sure will be interesting to see how our Bollywood productions fare in this battle.