Aamir Khan’s box-office standing in China has ensured a release for his latest movie Thugs of Hindostan in India’s powerful neighbour. Estars Films has acquired the rights to Vijay Krishna Acharya’s period drama, Variety reported.
The movie is set in the eighteenth century and traces the rebellion against British rule through characters played by Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The Yash Raj Films production is being released in India on November 8 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. “Yash Raj confirmed the details of the rights deal with Estars, but it said that it does not currently have a confirmed release date,” Variety reported.
One possible date is December 14. This date would give the film the “most lucrative pre-Christmas period” at the box office, the report said.
Nitesh Tiwari’s Dangal (2017), starring Aamir Khan, and Advait Chandan’s Secret Superstar (2017), which was backed by Aamir Khan Productions, were both big successes in China. Raju Hirani’s 3 Idiots (2009), was “one of the first Indian films to be released in China in the modern era”, Variety pointed out. Estars had imported Dangal and Secret Superstar into China, as well as Baahubali, the report added.
Yash Raj Films has previously released Sultan (2016) and Hichki (2018) in China. Hichki, starring Rani Mukerji as a teacher with Tourette’s syndrome, has “earned $16.5 million in its first 17 days of release”, Variety reported.