Actor Akshay Kumar sent tremors through the box office by announcing that his upcoming film, Padman, is set to be released on 26 January 2018, which is Republic Day. The news was a surprise considering that another big blockbuster starring Akshay, 2.0, has also been scheduled to be released on 25 January. However, in a recent interview to the tabloid, Mid-Day, the actor refused the idea that he would 'clash' with his own film.
Speaking to the paper, Akshay said, "There is a lot of false information that is being circulated over both films releasing on the same day. Why would I clash with my own film? It will be either Padman or 2.0."
Akshay's dismissal of the 'rumours' is surprising since the tweet about the date of Padman's release came through his official account. However, this has raised questions if Shankar's sci-fi blockbuster is likely to be postponed.
In a quote to The Indian Express last week, trade analyst Ramesh Bala had said that 2.0 is likely to face delays due to ongoing work on its VFX. Bala said, "Looks like a delay with the VFX. The shooting has been done though with Amy Jackson recently wrapping up a song. Now that the audio launch was successful, the news will not seem very negative. And also they’ll get more time to space out the teaser and trailer launch."
Akshay refused to confirm or deny any story about the delay to the Rajinikanth film. The actor answered diplomatically by saying, "While Padman is a film that I have produced, 2.0 belongs to Shankar, Rajinikanth and Lyca Productions. They will decide whether they want to release the film on Republic Day. If they do, I will postpone Padman and if they don't, I will go ahead."
The actor, though, went on to confirm that Padman will release on the Republic Day weekend. He said, "I am certainly having a release on Republic Day because if I don't do it, there are many others who are waiting in line. So I might as well take advantage."
From the looks of it, it is almost certain that Padman will take the Republic Day weekend, while 2.0 will be released later in 2018.