Deepika, Ranveer, Shahid thank Akshay for shifting Pad Man's release for Padmaavat

The lead actors of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-awaited Padmaavat thanked Akshay Kumar for shifting the release of his film Pad Man to 9 February, leaving a solo week for Padmaavat.

Actress Deepika Padukone who is playing the title role in the film, expressing her gratitude to Akshay, wrote, "Only from the heart can you touch the sky - Rumi. On behalf of team Padmaavat, a big, big thank you to the team Pad Man for your support and generosity!"

Shahid Kapoor, who also plays a key role, tweeted, "Thank you, Akshay Kumar, for being ever so gracious. Can't wait to see Pad Man. Much love and luck."

Ranveer Singh tweeted, "Big man with a big heart! Akshay Kumar, grateful to you sir, much love and respect."

The film features Padukone as Rani Padmavati along with Kapoor playing Rawal Ratan Singh and Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji. On Friday, 19 January, evening, alongside the director Bhansali, Akshay announced the rescheduled release date of his film. Respecting his gesture, Bhansali said, "I will be grateful to Akshay for a lifetime."

Prernaa Arora, the co-producer of Pad Man, has also hailed Akshay's decision to defer the film's release. "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 Pad Man," 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. 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.

Arora also scoffs at filmmakers and producers who deliberately pitch their films against one another.

"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, adding that "Akshay's entire team is with him on this decision."

Padmavaat is set to be released solo on 25 January.