At the heart of it, both "Dangal" and "Sultan" are films about wrestling, which makes them similar at some level. Aamir Khan isn't taking it too well and apparently believes that the makers of the Salman Khan-starrer have sabotaged his film.
According to a BollywoodLife source, Aamir made "heated" calls to producer Aditya Chopra after watching the "Sultan" trailer. He was not pleased with the way the "dhobi pachhaad" move was highlighted in the clip and also the fact that the film was releasing ahead of his.
"Aamir felt that Aditya had sabotaged his big release this year by planning everything ahead of his film's release. But Aamir's biggest bone of contention with Aditya Chopra was that Salman's trailer showcased the dhobi-pachad move of wrestling, which plays a key aspect of his own film," the insider informed.
As a solution, Aamir is now considering delaying his film. "Aamir now plans to delay the release of Dangal because he feels that the audience will be fresh out of Sultan this year and that will hamper his film," the source further elaborated.
This comes close on the heels of "Sultan" director Ali Abbas Zafar's candid interview with DNA, in which he said how edgy he felt when he learned that another film on wrestling was being made. He had a heart-to-heart with "Dangal" filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari requesting that they discuss their stories so that the similarities in them can be eliminated.
"Sultan" follows the story of Sultan Ali Khan (Salman), a gifted wrestler, who battles his inner demons and opponents in the ring with equal finesse. Anushka Sharma will play Sultan's lady love Aarfa. The sports-drama opens in theatres on Eid.
Aamir's is more of an emotional one. It's based on wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his relationship with two daughters Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film is scheduled to arrive in theatres on Dec. 23.
