MID-DAY (June 2, 2017)

Akshay Kumar has finally handed the reins of his super busy career to a professional firm. The action star has hired a talent management company led by Reshma Shetty, who until recently handled Salman Khan’s work. Reshma will now manage personal PR as well as Akki’s films and endorsements.

For the past few years, Akki has had a packed diary, but this year, he felt he needed professional assistance, says a source. After Jollu LLB 2, he has three more releases this year — 2.0, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha and Pad Man. He also has two other films on hand, Reema Kagti’s Gold and Neeraj Pandey’s Crack, apart from several ad deals.

Says a source, “Akshay has too much on his plate and was keen to hire a professional agency to handle the workload.” Reshma is credited with giving Salman a dramatic makeover and helping him bag several endorsements, TV and film projects. Her clientele includes Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Katrina Kaif.

Salman and Reshma’s equation was said to have soured over her alleged differences with Sohail Khan, who now looks after the superstar’s work. Given that Akshay is already a bankable name at the box office, Reshma will surely focus all her energy to make him the top Bollywood male star. But, remember how Akshay has been brought on board for Salman Khan and Karan Johar’s first joint production? Will Sallu allow his ex-manager to call the shots for that project?

Inputs by Bharati Dubey