Parmanu's release date postponed to 23 February; to clash with Rani Mukerji's Hichki

The John Abraham-starrer Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran will now release on 23 February in order to avoid competition from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmavati which is due to release on 1 December and Salman Khan’s Christmas release Tiger Zinda Hai which is set to hit cinema screens on 22 December, as reported by us earlier .

Abhishek Sharma’s Parmanu was scheduled for an 8 December release. However, the filmmakers felt it was not wise to wedge their movies in between the two mammoth releases that are slated for December.

“Parmanu is small compared to Padmavati. It’s not wise to pit our film against Bhansali’s. We’ve locked on the 23 February date since Anushka Sharma’s Pari will release earlier that month, and Akshay Kumar’s Padman is also eyeing an April date. Also, we don’t want to interfere with Fanney Khan (starring Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) or Tarun Mansukhani’s Drive, which release in the following months,” says Prernaa Arora of KriArj Entertainment, production banner of Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, according to a Mid-Day report.

Interesting, the John Abraham-Diana Penty starrer will now clash with Aditya Chopra’s production Hichki, which is touted as his wife Rani Mukerji’s comeback to Bollywood. Arora, however, said the makers of Parmanu:The Story of Pokhran are alright with the clash as both the films are vastly different. She also stated that there is no other option, with the makers of Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran trying to avoid a January release as they feel it will decrease the number of moviegoers from North India due to the immense cold that the region faces during those months.

Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran  is based on India’s first major nuclear weapon test in Pokhran, Rajasthan.