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No Diwali blast for SRK-Akki

The delay of Billoo Barber and Chandni Chowk To China comes as a disappointment to fans who were expecting a festive treat

For all those who were expecting ‘fireworks’ between Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar this Diwali will now have to wait till January 2009. Akshay’s eagerly awaited film Chandni Chowk To China and Shah Rukh Khan’s Biloo Barber were supposed to release this Diwali but now both have been delayed.

Chandni Chowk To China’s delay has upset director Nikhil Advani no end. He was so eager to catch the festive holidays this October that he made his cast and crew shoot round the clock for the film since February this year. He was very keen that it release before Shah Rukh’s film. A source from the film’s unit says, “Nikhil wanted the film to be the blockbuster this Diwali. With Akshay’s luck and success being so good this year he was looking forward to cashing in on it. But unfortunately technical issues have cropped up and we will have to now reshoot some major scenes.”

Apparently the director realised that he had lost four cans of the film’s final prints and it would require 10 days of shooting to make-up for the lost scenes.

Re-shooting a few scenes after completion of a film isn’t the real hurdle; getting dates from the busy lead actor Akshay Kumar is. Buzz is that Akshay is extremely upset with this new development. It has set him into a real tizz because he is totally booked up with all his other shooting commitments.

A source close to the actor reveals, “Akshay is very disappointed with the director. Akshay is tied up with his other projects till mid-January and he will really have to squeeze in time for Chandni Chowk To China now because he doesn’t want the film to get further delayed.”

Chandni Chowk To China is Akki’s pet project because the story line is extremely similar to his real-life story. Trade reports reveal that Chandni Chowk To China is the story of a cook who lands up in China and the film has a lot of incidents from Akshay’s real life in Bangkok where he worked as a cook.

Coming to Shah Rukh’s Biloo Barber, the film’s maker Priyadarshan has also stated that he needs to delay his film as some sequences need to be re-shot. The director also wants to add one or two more songs to make the film more saleable. Distributors are disappointed with the news that both such block-busters will not make it to the screen this Diwali. The news of Biloo Barber’s postponement came just a day after Chandni Chowk To China’s delay was announced.