Bachchan, Rajnikanth to clash at the box office

Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, Indian cinema's biggest superstars, are all set to clash at the box office in the most unexpected way.

Rajinikanth’s new film, the eagerly awaited Kabali, is scheduled to release on July 22 alongside Steven Spielberg’s childhood fantasia BFG, wherein Big B has lent his voice to the main character in its Hindi version.

While this may not be seen as a direct confrontation between the two actors, frantic efforts are on to avert the clash between Rajnikanth and the Bachchan baritone.

Apparently, Reliance and Fox-Star, the distributors of BFG and Kabali respectively, are trying to work out an "amicable compromise" so that the two films do not suffer from the impending clash.

Says a source close to the development, "Both Kabali and BFG are non-Bollywood opuses to be released in multiple languages all across India. Both are aimed at family audiences. While the USP of one is the cinematic deity of the South, the USP of the other is the most famous baritone of India."

The actors have locked horns at the box office on at least two occasions before.

Bachchan’s Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom and Rajnikanth’s Sivaji The Boss released on the same day in 2007 and then some years later, Big B's Bhootnath Returns and Rajnikanth’s Kochadaaiyan came out on the same day in 2014.