10 Years Ago Today, Big Triple AAA Clash Happened: Apne V Awarapan V Aap Ka Surroor

One of those active cinematic fans who didn’t mind two biggies clashing at the box office had a gala time back in the day when producers hardly gave a thought to finding the best release slot for their movies. Biggest of the biggies used to open on the same day spicing up the ticket counters and heating up the box office. Back in 2007, a Friday saw an even bigger fight. The fight of A’s!

On June 29, 2007, 3 potentially huge Hindi movies locked horns with each other! Each of them with a style of its own, an audience of its own and more importantly a distinct story of its own! The three releases were Apne, Awarapan and Aap Ka Surroor. As appalling as it sounds in today’s times, when these three biggies decided to clash on the same day, trade pundits were left wondering with open mouths. Each of these highly invested projects had a lot at stake and there was no way all of them could have gone home happy. What transpired was something beautiful.

All of these movies went home with something special, something desirable, which is why when put under a broader outlook, all three of these movies have a history to put forth.

Apne

For the very first time in the history of Indian cinema, the three Deols came together. Apne was a hardcore family drama wrapped in the label of boxing that brought together Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. The film had the likes of Kirron Kher, Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif in the names of female faces. Set in the beautiful heartland of Punjab and later the US, Apne was an extremely emotional ‘family’ take on values, love, devotion and sacrifice. And who better than Anil Sharma, the famous Deol family film crafter at the helm of this project to narrate things? Himesh Reshammiya’s soulful music and the real turned reel father sons bonding made Apne a very likable affair.

Aap Ka Surroor – The Movie – The Real Love Story

Quash us all you want for what we are going to tell you, but that’s not going to change the fact. Aap Ka Surroor back in 2007 was the then biggest opener of the year taking over all popular movies of the time. Yes, the film was terribly written off, critics went after it like anything and the audiences weren’t left too impressed either. Despite that Aap Ka Suroor was a rage back then with a verdict of ‘Hit’ going against its name. Himesh Rehsammiya was a complete sensation and his album with the same title had broken all records. His music videos were spreading like a fire and he had already rejected few film offers. Having put of all of this behind when Aap Ka Suroor hit the screens, it was a welcome occasion at the single theaters as it found audiences queueing up in large numbers.

Awarapan

It speaks a lot when the lead actor of the film despite a not so encouraging box office fate still considers it his favorite film. Having Emraan Hashmi in the lead, Awarapan was the most expensive film to come out of the Bhatt camp and had a lot riding for itself. Emraan Hashmi in a severe attempt to break his serial kisser image carried this character so beautifully that it became an eternal shining feather in his career. The beautifully composed music, the amazing performances and a heart wrenching story at its core made Awarapan an extremely loved experience for all. The film failed to pull anything magical at the box office but it was still considered one of the most liked movies of the year. 9 years down the line, the film is as fresh and appealing as it was back in the day and its mesmerizing music will forever keep this gem of a project in the hearts and mind of its viewers.

Who Went Home With What

Apne

One of the rare family dramas in the fading times

The first film with Dharmendra and Deol brothers together

A noble attempt at crafting a film based on boxing

A box office hit

Aap Ka Surroor -The Movie – The Real Love Story

The box office winner of this epic clash

One of the biggest openers of the year           

A box office hit

Awarapan

One of Emraan Hashmi’s most loved film

One of the biggest musicals of the decade

An underperformer at box office but still made the triple AAA clash extremely close 

While audiences today have forgotten what it was like to be experiencing a movie in a theater with a similar biggie playing at an adjacent screen, this was one occasion when fans didn’t hesitate to watch 3 films back to back. The triple AAA clash wasn’t just a box office battle at large, it also affirmed a plain and simple fact that good cinema can co-exist. Not everything has to be brutally put under the torturous race of 100 crores!