The epic clash between the undefeated box office khiladi Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus has been averted. The makers behind the Akshay Kumar’s Pad Man have made the announcement of moving the film’s release date to February 9. It will release alongside Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary starring Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee. The two films were originally clashing on January 26, but with Padmaavat’s release delayed to January 25, the Neeraj Pandey film was moved to two weeks later.
Breaking news: Pad Man release postponed to 9th February. Padmaavat will be solo release on 25th January
— Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) January 19, 2018
Anyone who held their breath for the clash between the two ‘period’ films, will now be disappointed. It was an interesting clash because Akshay Kumar has reigned the box office with his last dozen films, and the buzz surrounding Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film has been strong to the point of making some people nauseous.
ALSO READ: Padman trailer looks great. We truly hope the film doesn’t suffer the same fate as ‘Phullu’
It should be noted that Padmaavat was originally supposed to release in December last year, but had to be moved after several fringe groups protested the release of the film.
R Balki’s Pad Man, on the other hand, has no controversy attached to it whatsoever. With Bollywood’s numero uno ambassador for patriotism starring in the film, it takes creative liberties with the life of rural activist Arunachalam Muruganantham. The man was also the inspiration behind last year’s Phullu, and it would be interesting to see how the audience reacts to Akshay Kumar’s ‘accessible’ avatar of the activist.
Padmaavat on the other hand is making up for the lost time and advertising the film in overdrive. Only a few days ago, Viacom 18 put out a full-page advertisement claiming that the film doesn’t hurt any community’s sentiments. The film is also getting a multi-lingual release including in Tamil, Telugu.
Supreme Court quashed a plea seeking ban on the film, and has cleared it for a nationwide release. It will be interesting to see if the states fearing disturbance in law and order, decide to follow the SC directive and screen the film.
