'Bajirao Mastani' Further Heats Up After Overseas Distributors Screening, Releases Bigger Than 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'

Now this one could well have been considered unthinkable, however it is indeed happening. On its release, Bajrangi Bhaijaan was the biggest overseas arrival of the year, what with over 800 screens been reserved for it outside India. Well, as things stand now, Bajirao Mastani is all set to top this count as it would be seeing an even bigger arrival on its 18th December release.

"It is the special cut of the film that was shown to Overseas distributors that did the trick," our trade source informs, "Recently in London, a substantial portion of the film was exclusively screened for worldwide distributors. They saw the film and went back truly stunned. Other than the superb promo which is already out, as well as the song and action sequences that are the highlight of the film, there were quite a few talkie portions that were shown to the distributors as well."

While they were confident in Sanjay Leela Bhansali even before the first frame was shown to them, they were further overwhelmed when the screening actually began.

"They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw what unfolded in front of them," an insider adds, "Other than the visuals and the grandeur which is of course the core USP of the film, it was the story factor that further intrigued them. They were more than happy with the content on display and made a promise there and then the film would release bigger than the biggest across the world."

The set benchmark of 2015 was Bajrangi Bhaijaan which, on its Eid release, was a solo arrival at over 800 screens. Now Bajirao Mastani, despite competition from Hollywood's own Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale, would top the 800 mark by a distance and see an even bigger global arrival than the Salman Khan starrer.

Wow!