We knew Sam Bahadur was going to be a 'Test match’: Vicky Kaushal on clash with Animal
Vicky Kaushal in Sam Bahadur
On December 1, 2023, two big movies of Bollywood - Vicky Kaushal's Sam Bahadur and Ranbir Kapoor's Animal were released. The simultaneous release of both movies triggered a debate all over social media as many saw it as one of the biggest box office clashes.
While Vicky Kaushal's biographical movie went on to garner love from audiences and critics alike and earned decent numbers at the box office,Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film shattered box office records, becoming one of the highest grossing movies of the year.
Months after the release, Vicky, who played the role of first Field MarshalSam Manekshaw in the biographical drama, opened up about the clash.
During his recent interview with The Week Magazine, the actor explained, “With Sam, we always knew it was a Test match; we knew it was not the quintessential masala film that Animal was ― it had the shock value and one knew it would create waves at the box office (sic).”
Vicky added that director Meghna Gulzar addressed the clash, saying that resonating with the audience is the key,apart from the release date.
"If it does not click with people, it will not do well no matter when it is released. People started talking about it more and more as the weeks went by," the actor added.
He also went on to address how the film continues to garner the audience's love up until January. “We saw that through January, Sam's shows kept going on, and that gives me tremendous happiness (sic),” he said.
Sam Bahadur's box office performance
Directed by Meghna Gulzar, Sam Bahadur tellsthe remarkable story of Sam Manekshaw. The biographical drama performed well at the box office, earning ₹128.17 crore (US$16 million) worldwide.
Even before the release, it was clear that Meghna's movie was going to get tough competition fromSandeep Reddy Vanga's film. But throughword-of-mouth praise from audiences, who have lauded Vicky's performance and Gulzar's work, the movie ended up earning a decent number at the box office and was declared a hit.
