Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 10, 2014)

After announcing a box office clash between his magnum opus Bajirao Mastani and Karan Johar’s Shuddhi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is at it again. The filmmaker has now announced that his production Gabbar starring Akshay Kumar will be a Republic Day release in 2015; even though Neeraj Pandey has already called dibs on that date for his untitled next. Though Bhansali seems to have won round one as Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, also the top contenders for KJo’s flick, have picked his film instead, the second bout seems like a tough one. The reason being that Akshay, who is also the star of Pandey’s next, has not taken kindly to Bhansali’s surprise move and made his displeasure clear to Shabinaa Khan, Bhansali’s co-producer of Gabbar.

 When the actor came to know that both his films will clash at the theatres, he was not amused especially as the decision was made without consulting him.

 A source close to the development told Mirror that Akshay had a heated conversation with Shabinaa regarding the same.

 “Akshay is sure that if both the films release simultaneously, the conflict will only divide his audience,” said the source. “Shabinaa was taken aback by the conversation and Akshay’s anger but she promised to look into the matter,” added the source. So will Bhansali bow to Akshay’s wrath and take one for the team? Only time will tell.