By Subhash K Jha
London is currently host to two major film units from Bollywood. Both seem to be facing their own quota of problems.
While Abbas Tyrewala’s 1: 800 Love has been encountering a number of visa-related and location problems, Sajid Khan’s Housefull suffered a setback when its leading lady Deepika Padukone fell ill.
Even before she, and the unit, could recover from this setback, Deepika left London to join Saif Ali Khan and Imtiaz Ali for an event related to her new release Love Aaj Kal in Delhi.
Akshay of course is playing it cool in London and rooting for Love Aaj Kal, since it features his friend Saif in a Sikh’s role.Akshay has been there last year in Singh Is Kinng.
Says Akshay, “My son Aarav goes back to Mumbai tomorrow. His school starts on Monday. I’ve a holiday today (Friday) so I can spend time with him and my wife.”
Twinkle returns to join Akshay in London after a fortnight. She now tries to spend as much time with Akshay as possible wherever he’s shooting.
With Deepika in Delhi, Akshay and Twinkle have been spending all their time together in London.
Says Akshay, “Yesterday we saw Love Aaj Kal here (in London) and loved it. The way Saif has played the Sikh character is just amazing. Who was more convincing as a Sardarji, me in Singh Is Kinng or Saif? I’ll let the audience judge that.”
In the meanwhile, plans for a sequel to Singh Is Kinng have been put on hold considering the sensitivity displayed by the Sikh community over beard lengths.
Apparently Akshay and his producer-friend Vipul Shah now feel that the Singh Is Kinng formula should be allowed to rest until the intolerance level of various communities goes down.
Says Akshay evasively, “Let me first finish what I’ve in plate. Then we’ll see about the sequel.”
- Sampurn Media