With almost 10 movies in different stages of production, Akshay Kumar is not just one of the busiest actors in Bollywood, but also one of the richest ones with almost Rs 1500cr riding on him.
The first film of the blocks from the entire lot is the much-awaited Sooryavanshi, which releases on Diwali. “It is to be noted that there are many films which are releasing back-to-back from October onwards and it is only Sooryavanshi, which is releasing with a week’s break. Sooryavanshi releases on Diwali in the first week of November and there is nothing in the second Friday. On the third Friday, we have Bunty Aur Babli from Yash Raj Films,” says a source.
After Sooryavanshi, Akshay’s YRF-backed Prithviraj will hit the marquee in January 2022. Next in the line are Bachchan Pandey, which will arrive on March 4, 2022, followed by Aanand L Rai’s Raksha Bandhan that releases on August 11, 2022. Releasing at the end of 2022, during Diwali, is his Ram Setu.
“That still leaves films like Mission Cinderella and Oh My God 2 without release dates. It is now being said Akshay is in favour of Atrangi Re — the film with Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush — to release on an OTT platform. The trade is now hoping that most of these films have to do well as the markets need to open up only with theatrical hits,” says writer and historian, Imtiaz Baghdadi.
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns delayed the release of several big-budget films. And now with theatres reopening in many states, filmmakers are rushing to book release dates. “This does not happen often, but then the pandemic-induced situation has led to Akshay being the most sought after actor. In 13 weeks, we have a plethora of blockbusters releasing week after week and that is like setting a new precedent,” the source adds.
