Had everything worked out as planned, director Faruk Kabir's Haafiz would have been Sooraj Pancholi's second outing after the Salman Khan-backed debut, Hero (2015). Announced in early 2017, the film was to start rolling by mid-July. However, despite physical and mental preparation from the actor's end and a bulk allotment of 78 days, the Kumar Mangat production couldn't take off. And now, BT has it that Sooraj has opted out of the project.

A source close to the movie says that the production house could neither finalize the script nor procure the permission for desired locations (in Morocco), which pushed the project further by a couple of months. The source adds, “Sooraj was asked to allot a fresh set of dates in the September/October window this year. However, since he has already committed those to Prabhu Dheva's recently-announced next outing, which also requires about 60-70 days in one go, he couldn't accommodate Hafiz. Also, while Prabhu Dheva's action flick needs him to maintain his body as it is, Hafiz required him to knock off 10 kilos. That made it impossible for him to even consider juggling the two projects. After the Prabhu Dheva film, Sooraj is also expected to take off on an international tour with Salman. So, he chose to opt out of Hafiz.“

We contacted Kumar Mangat and Sooraj, but neither reverted till we went to press.

Panorama Studios, which is spear headed by the father-son producer duo of Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak, has had a long-standing, profitable relationship over the years. This time around, it has hit the bullseye with the Akshay Kumar-starrer Rustom. The studio is the all-India distributor of the thriller, which is likely to cross Rs 100 crore over the second weekend.

Interestingly, this is the eighth Akshay film that the duo has distributed. In the past, apart from Special 26, which they had also produced, they have distributed OMG Oh My God, Gabbar Is Back, Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love, Ajnabee, Andaaz and Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya too.

Abhishek Pathak, the studio's managing director, said, “We believe in backing films that have a strong storyline and universal appeal. Rustom had all the ingredients to be a success story and we are proud to have associated with Akshay sir on it.“

Kumar Mangat Pathak, who is the chairman, added, “It has been proved time and again that content is king. When an individual visits the theatre, he looks forward to a paisa vasool film. And Rustom has delivered that.“

Panorama Studios, which had a successful run in 2015 with Gabbar Is Back, Drishyam and Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, is constantly looking to co-produce content-based films that are also commercially viable. The producers are also well established in India and worldwide distribution having met with success on their Bollywood and Hollywood releases. Their forthcoming projects include the comedy Atithi in London that will be shot in London and New York and Haafiz (a romantic action-thriller) set in Oman. Both the films are scheduled to go on floors shortly.