Sunny Deol vs Emraan Hashmi: Can Batwara 1947 repeat the Gadar 2 box office magic against Awarapan 2? 

Two very different films. One Independence Day weekend. The battle at the box office might give way to a remarkable Bollywood clash.  

Sunny Deol is entering another Independence Day box-office conflict. Following the booming success of Gadar 2 in 2023, he is now coming back with Batwara 1947 which is to lock horns with Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2 on August 14, 2026. 

The clash is interesting per se since Batwara 1947 is about a large-scale period drama while Awarapan 2 is a dark thriller which brings back one of Emraan Hashmi’s most remembered characters after 19 years. However, Sunny Deol already knows what Independence Day domination means. 

The Gadar 2 precedent

In 2023, both the films – Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 and Akshay Kumar, Yami Gautam and Pankaj Tripathi’s OMG 2 were released together on 11th August ahead of India’s Independence Day.  

Looking at its premise, OMG 2 had its own strengths as a film. It was a social comedy-drama film with a topical social issue and its already established franchise. Some key points make Gadar 2 even stronger than OMG 2. It had nostalgia, a massive appeal and Sunny Deol’s fight character Tara Singh. 

Difference in success was noted from opening day itself. Gadar 2 had its opening collections of around Rs. 40.10 crore nett in India, while OMG 2 opened with approximately Rs. 10.26 crore. The turning point came when Gadar 2 was able to collect Rs. 525.45 crore nett in India and a total of Rs. 691.08 crore worldwide. Meanwhile, OMG 2 also proved to be successful in box office due to the fact it is able to collect good box office numbers. 

This difference in box office numbers makes the clash of Batwara 1947 and Awarapan 2 even more interesting.  

In fact, this is the most important difference as Gadar 2 was an out-and-out mass-action entertainer that succeeded in bringing back a classic character some might be familiar with because it was a well-known franchise. Audiences expected nothing other than what they got from Tara Singh, that being: emotion, patriotism, love, and lots of action.  

In contrast, Batwara 1947 is a Partition drama directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Aamir Khan. The film features such stars as Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, and Ali Fazal. The film centers around the human aspect of the Partition, the suffering endured by families located on either side of the divide.  

This film is notable because Rajkumar Santoshi and Sunny Deol work together again after a long break. One might find it interesting that Ghayal was released again just prior to Batwara 1947, thus adding more nostalgia to the tone of Sunny’s promotion campaign. 

However, the film has one main downside, which is that it has been given an A certificate although it is a historical drama. This film has passed without any cuts by the CBFC, and the runtime of the film is approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes. Thus, the audience of the film is definitely limited when compared with the UA-rated films that are released to the public. 

Then comes Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2. While Batwara 1947 uses historical facts and emotional description to get people’s interest. At the same time, Awarapan 2 aims to create nostalgia in the audience. The actor who plays the role of Shivam Pandit is Emraan Hashmi, and this film was produced nearly two decades after the first Awarapan. The film directed by Nitin Kakkar is supposed to show the audience a dark action-thriller film with some revenge motives, love and many other things connected to the idea of revenge. 

Though the first movie wasn’t a great success at the box-office in 2007, it gained a good reputation over the years thanks to the performance of Emraan and to its music. 

The same audience is not being targeted by the two films. Awarapan 2 promises to attract younger urban moviegoers, Emraan Hashmi enthusiasts as well as the people who grew up watching the original movie on various television channels and streaming platforms. The dark romantic action theme also differentiates it from Batwara 1947. 

Does Awarapan 2 have an edge in terms of box-office performance? 

It is interesting that the initial indications look promising for Emraan Hashmi’s film. Iif reports are to be believed, Awarapan 2 is performing better than Batwara in advance booking, as it has already sold over Rs. 2.05 crore worth of tickets. In another news, it was stated that the advance sale of Awarapan 2 has increased massively over a period of 24 hours. Still, Sunny’s movie has A certification which limits its audience scope. However, advance bookings cannot be regarded as ultimate judgment.  

And this is the moment when that Sunny Deol can benefit from the massive number of people watching his movies after the first screening. 

Batwara 1947 comes with the advantage of being released on Independence Day, having a well-known star cast, an experienced director, impressive star cast and baggage of Partition. If the film receives positive word of mouth among audiences, especially during the holiday season, it could emerge a winner. Awarapan 2 has the advantage of a familiar cult brand and a genre that does well at box office if the audience connects with it in terms of music, action and emotional connect. 

So who wins? 

While Awarapan 2 may have the first-day advantage at the box office according to the current trends of advance bookings, the same cannot be said with respect to the entire Independence Day weekend, as competition is much stiffer then. If Batwara 1947 manages to deliver truly moving patriotic cinema, it could result in Sunny Deol hitting gold once again on Independence Day. 

However, unlike Gadar 2, which had the character of Tara Singh, this time around the actor may not find it easy, that’s why Awarapan 2 could have an edge over it before the weekend begins, but Batwara 1947 can emerge champion in the long run. 

The most likely scenario? Awarapan 2 could win the opening race, but Batwara 1947’s fate will depend heavily on audience response beyond Day 1. 

Early prediction: Awarapan 2, slight edge for opening; Batwara 1947, stronger potential for a turnaround if reviews and word of mouth are strong.