Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; November 11, 2016)

After Sarbjit hit theatres in May, Omung Kumar announced his third directorial venture, Five, a psychological thriller. Almost immediately, Sushant Singh Rajput’s name emerged, suggesting that he had been chosen to play lead as reported by hitlist (Clinching a thriller, June 2). Then, rumours of Akshay Kumar doing the film did the rounds.

Now, well-placed sources tell us that Sushant has given a nod to Omung’s film, which will be his first after the the success of MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. “Sushant has a packed diary for the next one year, but he decided to squeeze in Omung’s film since he liked the script,” says an insider.

Five was initially supposed to roll at the end of this year, but given the delay in casting, the unit will now start shooting in mid-2017. “It will be shot across various locations in London. Casting for the female lead is underway, but it is the sort of film where the spotlight is on the hero,” the source adds.

Sandeep Singh, Omung’s producer for Sarbjit, will continue with him on this project. Bhushan Kumar is likely to come on board as co-producer. Jeet Gannguli, Mithoon, and Amaal Mallik are to compose its music.

Sushant remained unavailable for comment, while Omung maintained a “no comment” stance. Sandeep said, “We don’t wish to speak about the casting right now.”

Will the actor been seen in Naam Shabana and Five next? Here’s the truth
DNA (September 22, 2016)


“Let’s talk about Naam Shabana first,” says our source, “It is being made out to be that Akshay is playing second fiddle to Taapsee Pannu in the film. The film doesn’t require his presence. He is producing the film.” Considering the fact that a large fanbase may expect him to make some kind of token appearance in Naam Shabana, he will be making a cameo in the prequel directed by Shivam Nair. “That’s about it though, nothing more, and even that hasn’t been pencilled in so far,” the source admits, adding, “The film is about the character played by Taapsee in Baby and it revolves around her.”

About Five, the other film in whose connection Khiladi Kumar’s name comes up, is just a coincidence, says our khabru. The release date has been announced as January 26, 2018. “Yes, the date is certainly one of the hot favourites for Akshay, considering he has released Baby (2015) and Airlift (2016) during the Republic Day weekend. However, he is not doing Naam Shabana. We have no idea where this rumour started,” adds the source.

According to reports, Five is a psychological thriller and Akshay was reported to be playing five distinct characters. “Interesting idea indeed,” our insider adds, “However, so far, nothing has materialised. These are just premature reports. Currently, Akshay has Jolly LLB 2, Robot 2.0, Toilet — Ek Prem Katha and Crack in different stages of production. His other films would be announced officially when the time is right.”