A twist on Aamir Khan’s birthday

Hours before Aamir Khan turns 47, the big news breaks. Talaash, his psychological thriller due to release in June, has been postponed to November 30.

Aamir Khan is one of the producers of the film; the others are Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. Talaash, directed by Reema Kagti, also stars Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherji.

Ostensibly, the release date has been postponed keeping in mind Aamir Khan’s debut on TV, also slated for June. Given the extensive and innovative promotions which Aamir undertakes for each of his films, the reason to shift dates is credible. Or is it? Dig a little deeper.

On the other side, old rival Shah Rukh Khan is neck-deep in filming his big Diwali release – the untitled Yash Raj film with Katrina Kaif. If their first-time together on screen isn’t big enough, this one is surely the clincher – master director Yash Chopra returns to direct SRK after eight years. Their last film together was Veer-Zaara, with Preity Zinta in the female lead role.

With Diwali on November 13, SRK’s film will release roughly two weeks before Talaash. Like ghost of Diwali past, when a similar situation was played out in 2008. That year Aamir’s Ghajini outpaced SRK’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. While Ghajini became a huge blockbuster, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, though a blockbuster, didn’t inspire haircuts and chiseled bodies. Many said at the time that smart promotions are what worked in Ghajini’s favour – including movie theatre staff sporting Aamir’s signature cut from the film.

Will 2012 see yet another slickly-promoted Aamir Khan film hog the limelight and the box-office and the awards (though Aamir steadfastly shuns them)? We’ll know in a few months. Till then, there are huge numbers of his fans counting down the days.

Aamir Khan fans going ballistic on FB. 1st reaction to Talaash delay news – “Shit Happens!” :x, says a tweet. “TV killed the movie star,” says another.

Others say SRK will be upstaged (we can’t use the real word here, so think of the extreme form) by Aamir and Aamir by Salman’s Dabanng 2!

Clearly, Aamir Khan’s 47th birthday (apparently no celebration has been planned because he is immersed in his TV show) comes with a twist. Watch out!

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