Mumbai, Aug. 12 -- The much-awaited Independence Day clash between Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2 and Sunny Deol's Batwara 1947 has already started at the box office, and the early advance booking numbers are clearly favouring the former.

As per the latest reported figures, Awarapan 2 had sold nearly 68,000 tickets by 9 PM on August 11, while Batwara 1947 had sold around 37,600 tickets. This puts Awarapan 2 approximately 81% ahead of its rival in ticket sales.

The gap is significant with both films scheduled to release in theatres on August 14. Awarapan 2 is riding strongly on the nostalgia around the 2007 cult classic. Emraan Hashmi's return as Shivam Pandit after 19 years has created considerable excitement among fans, while the film's mu...