Not for nothing is Akshay Kumar being referred to as a “Superhero” in the promos of his forthcoming film PadMan. In a move that surprised all of Bollywood and left a warm glow in the hearts of many, the superstar called an impromptu press conference at his residence this evening and announced that he was deferring the release of PadMan from January 25 to February 9 so that his friend and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali would have a clear run for his period drama Padmaavat that was already going through the fires.
Bollywood trade pundits counting the days to the imminent clash of these two big tickets films at the box office next weekend, heaved a sigh of relief that could be heard across the lawns of Akshay’s Juhu residence garden. Even while he was being bombarded by questions on his unexpected decision, in his second surprise move of the evening – Akshay led Bhansali himself out and the two then proceeded to address the media jointly.
What happened was that Akshay and Bhansali met by chance this morning on the sets of the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards where the actor was rehearsing for a special dance number he is presenting at the awards ceremony tomorrow night. Bhansali reportedly approached the actor and gently suggested that if Akshay postponed the release of PadMan from January 25 to another date, his film Padmaavat would have a better run at the box office.
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Akshay, a braveheart always, immediately decided to do that and oblige his friend who was anyways distressed by the nationwide protests by various socio-political groups against the release of Padmaavat. “It is essential for them (Bhansali and the Padmaavat team) to release as quickly as possible, so I agreed to move PadMan ahead, and it will now be released on February 9,” Akshay said quietly.
With that, Bhansali got up and hugged Akshay gratefully while the media cameras blazed to catch this historic moment when the two big filmmakers put aside whatever professional differences they might have had on the common release date of their films to be personally present for one another at this critical time. Bhansali gracefully made an exit from the press conference after that but not before Akshay and he had wished each other good luck and Godspeed with the releases of Padmaavat and PadMan respectively.
Check out the pics:
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