Akshay, Anushka’s Valentine date

The actors’ Patiala House to release next February, instead of November. Read on for more.

Directors Vipul Shah and Nikhil Advani are relieved. Thanks to Akshay Kumar, the two-week gap between the release of Shah’s Action Replayy and Advani’s Patiala House in November has now been widened, averting an overlap of the films’ promotions. And since Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan is due this Christmas, Patiala House will now be the next Valentine’s Day’s big-ticket movie.

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Initially, Patiala House was scheduled for a November 19 release, with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. However, trade was abuzz with news that Kumar, whose Action Replayy with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan opens this Diwali, likes to space out the release of his films.

"Akshay likes to have a window of about 45 days between his films. With Action Replay’s release this Diwali, Patiala House’s promotions around the same time could confuse audiences," explains a source close to the actor.

Besides, Advani did not want to complete the movie in a rush. Kumar, being a co-producer with Mukesh Talreja and Bhushan Kumar, also helped in finding a release date, and they finalised February 11

Advani says, “I’ll finish my edit by October 15, then I have 10 days of shooting and a song to complete. I don’t want to rush my team with a November release.”

Set in South Hall, UK, Patiala House spans three generations, starting in the ’70s. The multi-track film tells a father-son story, with an immigration angle and a good dose of cricket.

It is by the end of September that Advani will be in a position to take a call on the picturisation of a love song on the lead actors.

“The edit will help me decide how I should shoot it because it’s a beautiful lyrical number,” he says, adding that he’ll soon start working on the first teaser, which he plans on releasing with Action Replayy on November 5.