Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 3, 2014)

Satish Kaushik may have helped out Nagesh Kukunoor with his upcoming film, Lakshmi, but now the former is probably regretting the same. Latest news has it that Kaushik’s directorial venture, Gang of Ghosts, and Kukunoor’s film, Lakshmi, are slated to release on the same date: March 21.

Over two years ago, Lakshmi faced a roadblock when its producer backed out of the project and the project was stalled due to a financial crunch. This was when Kukunoor approached Kaushik to help him out with the project. Kaushik recollects how he had a New Delhi- based company — of which he is a director — come on board as the producer. “I even roped in Jayantilal Gada as the presenter,” says Kaushik, who plays a grey character in the film.

He adds that releasing Lakshmi on the same day was uncalled for as it clashes with his film. “It could have been averted, but now that Lakhsmi finally has a release date, I will just have to go with it. To add to it, both films have got an A certificate,” says Kaushik.

While Gang of Ghosts is a horror comedy starring Sharman Joshi, Mahie Gill, Meera Chopra, Kukunoor’s film deals with the subject of human trafficking and stars Monali Thakur, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah and Kaushik.

A source says that Kaushik doesn’t want Lakshmi to be pushed back yet again as the film has been stuck for a while now despite an impressive run in the festival circuit. It may be pointed out here that Kukunoor’s earlier film, Hausla, is yet to see the light of day.