Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali in a joint press conference in Mumbai announced that Kumar’s upcoming film PadMan will now release on February 9 to avert a clash with Bhansali’s Padmaavat. Both films had gathered a lot of momentum and their release in highly awaited.
Akshay Kumar said that he was left with no choice after Bhansali approached him and pleaded for help.
“I was rehearsing for my performance at an upcoming awards show when Sanjay Bhansali came to meet me. He said he is going through a lot of stress and will be in big trouble if Padmaavat clashes with PadMan and requested me to postpone PadMan. I have worked with him in two films, and when someone you have worked with requests like this, it is very difficult to say no,” Akshay said.
At the press conference, the actor also apologised for informing the audiences this late and explained that at this point in time a clash was highly unnecessary. “I am so grateful for my studios Sony and Kriarj for accepting this decision as they also have high stakes in the film.”
Bhansali also thanked Akshay for the gesture and said, “Akshay should get a huge round of applause for this gesture because this is really something unheard of.”
When questioned why PadMan couldn’t be released on time and Padmaavat be moved forward, Akshay responded, “They have a reason to release it this time. It is essential for them to release the film as soon as possible. The point is not about fighting or clashing, I will also tell you that we can both easily come out on this date. There are 4500 to 5000 theatres and both can share it. At this time, the stake of their film is much higher than mine.”
Kumar’s decision was well-received by Bollywood’s film fraternity and the lead actors of Padmaavat namely Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor all expressed their gratitude towards Kumar on social media.
Deepika tweeted, “Only from the heart can you touch the sky – Rumi. On behalf of team Padmaavat, a big big thank you to team PadMan for your support and generousity.”
— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) January 19, 2018
Ranveer Singh tweeted, “Big Man with a Big Heart! Akshay Kumar…Grateful to you, Sir…Mad Love and Respect.”
Big Man with a Big Heart! @akshaykumar … Grateful to you, Sir ….❤️ Mad Love and Respect ??
— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) January 19, 2018
Shahid Kapoor wrote, “Thank you Akshay Kumar for being ever so gracious. Can’t wait to see PadMan. Much love and luck. From team Padmaavat.”
Thank you @akshaykumar for being ever so gracious. Can’t wait to see #padman. Much love and luck. From team #padmaavat
— Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) January 19, 2018
Meanwhile, Prernaa Arora, the co-producer of PadMan also hailed Kumar’s decision to defer the film’s release.
“Akshay’s entire team is with him on this decision,” his co-producer Prernaa Arora of Kriarj Films said.
“What Akshay sir did on Friday evening is unheard of. Just a week before our film’s release, without any prior intimation, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a legend in his own right, came to Akshay requesting that we postpone PadMan,” she said.
“It takes a lot of humility for a man of Bhansali’s stature to come forward with such a request. It takes an equally great artiste to agree to such a startling request,” Arora said.
“It was a very unusual request considering we were days away from release. But Akshay agreed immediately. It says a lot about his generous heart,” she added.
Prernaa also added this decision should be used as an example and other filmmakers should learn from this.
“They should learn from this experience. By moving ahead by two weeks at the last minute, Akshay sir has shown there can be solidarity in the film fraternity. His gesture will be remembered for a very long time,” she said.
“We are all in agreement on Akshay Sir’s decision. There are so many big stars who deliberately look for box office clashes by pitching their films against other big films. Akshay Sir has shown the way to a peaceful co-existence in the film industry.”
Padmaavat, based on an Awadhi language epic poem written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540, was originally slated to release on December 1 last year but due to violent protests and opposition against the film, its release was stalled. Padmavaat faced opposition from right-wing Hindu groups for allegedly distorting historical facts, despite Bhansali’s insistence to the contrary. Amid violent protests in the country, a bounty was placed to behead Bhansali and Padukone. Its release was then indefinitely delayed.
However, the Supreme Court of India this week announced that the film will be released nationwide and no state will be allowed to ban it, despite getting clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The CBFC had issued a few changes to the film including, changing the name from Padmavati to Padmaavat. Furthermore, significant costume changes were also made. A new version of the song Ghoomar, which has been recently uploaded without any announcement, replaces Deepika’s bare midriff with a computer-generated cloth.
Padmaavat is one of the most expensive Indian films to be made and the delay in its release has already affected it’s producers. Had it been released with PadMan, the loss might have been greater.
On the other hand, PadMan, tells the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, the man behind a low-cost machine for manufacturing sanitary napkins in rural India. The film’s unusual storyline and its cast of Akshay Kumar along with Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte was predicted to be a box office success.
The initial ban of Padmaavat has greatly affected the Bollywood release calender as several other films including Anushka Sharma’s Pari and Siddharth Malhotra’s Aiyari were also shifted.