Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; May 26, 2016)

Looks like Akshay Kumar has no time for Vipul Shah’s Namastey England. Gossip mills are abuzz that the star has put the film on the backburner to work on a sequel to Subhash Kapoor’s Jolly LLB (2013). This is the third time in the last six months that he has chosen to commit himself to a newer project over Shah’s film co-starring Sonakshi Sinha.

On December 22 last year, hitlist had reported about the schedule of Namastey England being pushed by four months — from April to August — since Akki wanted to take up Rajinikanth-starrer Robot 2 first. In a follow- up report on March 31, we mentioned how the actor was keen to work on AR Murugadoss’ production, Ikka, after wrapping up Robot 2, delaying Shah’s film further. Now we hear, Akshay will be able to devote himself to the film only by the year-end.

A source says, “There have been repeated delays in starting the film due to Akshay’s unavailability. But the reason is that Shah is not really prepared in terms of finances to take his film on floors as slated. So, Akshay has preferred to keep himself busy with other projects.”

Another industry insider says Akshay has a packed diary this year. After Housefull 3 releases in June, he will take off for his annual family holiday which usually lasts a month. Once back, he will get down to the promotions of Rustom, which is set to hit theatres in August. “Right after that, he will dive into the shoot of Jolly LLB 2 in Lucknow. It is a month-long schedule. The actor wants to shoot the film in one go and it looks difficult for Namastey England to roll in August,” adds the insider.

Akshay remained unavailable for comment while Shah asserts that his film is on track. In a text message, he says, “I am not aware of any such thing (Akshay choosing another project over his). These rumours have been (going) around, but I don’t think they are true.”