Fans of Rowdy Rathore, it’s your time to rejoice. Buzz has it that producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali is ready with the sequel to his 2012 hit, starring Akshay Kumar. It will be directed by Prabhudeva, who had directed the first one as well. While Rowdy Rathore had been based on a Telugu hit, the sequel will be created around an original story. While the rest of the cast is yet to be decided, leading man Akshay will reprise his role as Inspector Vikram Rathod, who has anger issues.

However, the backstory is more interesting… It may be recalled that earlier this year, Sanjay Bhansali’s under-pressure Padmaavat was finally cleared for release. The date chosen by the producers was January 26, Republic Day. However, Akshay Kumar’s PadMan was already announced to release on this date.

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Knowing that both films clashing on the same release date would impact the box office performance of the super-expensive Padmaavat in particular, Bhansali had approached PadMan’s leading man and producer Akshay Kumar for help. Soon news broke that PadMan would be releasing in February to avoid a conflict with Padmaavat. Bhansali and Akshay then addressed a joint press conference, at which Akshay revealed, “Sanjay Leela Bhansali came to meet me while I was rehearsing for a show and requested me to push PadMan’s release. I’ve worked in two films with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Very difficult to not help when someone like him says he needs it.”

He had added, “It is essential for them to release the film as soon as possible…At this time, the stake of their film is much higher than mine.” A visibly moved and grateful Bhansali had mentioned that he didn’t know how to thank Akshay for his gesture, to which Akki had joked, “By making Rowdy Rathore.” Turns out, it wasn’t too much of a joke and now the two will return with the sequel of the film.