The unthinkable has happened. In the times when Ranbir Kapoor has managed to gain a superstar status for himself, it is imperative that he enjoys solo releases for himself for next few films at the least. However he has a contender in the form of Sidharth Malhotra whose ambitious project, THE VILLAIN (provisional title), is now challenging Kapoor's ROY. Both films are being planned for 20th June release next year. "In all fairness, it was ROY that was announced for release first. However, Balaji is now opening up her film calendar for next year and has declared bringing THE VILLIAN on the same date," informs a source. Balaji has good reasons to do that. After all, the film has a star director in the form of Mohit Suri whose AASHIQUI 2 turned out to be among the biggest blockbusters of the year. Moreover, Sidharth is a sought after youngster in Bollywood after STUDENT OF THE YEAR. Shraddha Kapoor is also a face to reckon with post AASHIQUI 2. The combination is fresh and makes for a major first-time screen pairing.

"One wonders whether the decision has also been taken after major speculations around Ranbir's role in ROY being a supporting role, came to the forefront," the source adds. Ironically, for Mohit Suri it would be a precarious situation as he would be directly taking on Bhushan Kumar, producer of ROY, who was also the man behind financing AASHIQUI 2. It would now be interesting to see if this clash between two actors extends to the one between a producer and director as well. Or if one of the parties moves.