Akshay Kumar's Padman pushed to February 9 to avoid clash with Padmaavat

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has postponed the release date of his much-awaited film 'Padman' to avoid a box office clash with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial film "Padmaavat". "Padman" directed by R Balki was supposed to release on January 25, but now it will arrive in theatres on February 9. "Padmaavat" makers announced the release date of the film earlier this month after they received the clearance from the censor board.

The film had to miss its scheduled release of December 1, as it got mired in controversy after various regional and ethnic groups, objected to the content of the film and the portrayal of queen Padmavati. 'Padman' release postponed to February 9. 'Padmaavat' will be a solo release on January 25, trade analyst Komal Nahata said in a tweet. "Padman" is based on the life of Tamil Nadu based social activist Arunachalam Muruganantham, who created affordable sanitary napkins in rural India. "Padman" will now have a box office clash with Neeraj Pandey's "Aiyaary".

Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Akshay Kumar held a press conference together to announce the change in dates and avoiding the clash. Sanjay said that since he and Akshay have been pals for a long time, they came to a consensus and Akki willingly offered to push the release date of his film. Padman along with Padmaavat have been one of the highly awaited films of 2018.

(with inputs from agencies)

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