Akshay Kumar is considered to be among the most bankable stars in Bollywood, but unfortunately his most recent Joker (read the review here) failed to make its mark at the box office. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the opening day collection of the film was approximately 5 crores, with an occupancy of 20%. What could be the reason for that?
It’s possibly due to Akshay Kumar’s absence from promotions of the film. Word has it that he and Shirish Kunder have had a falling out, mostly due to several creative differences. Initially, the film was supposed to be released in 3D, but that idea was eventually axed. Then, Akshay supposedly had plans for the special effects of the film – like bringing in a team from Hollywood – but Shirish wasn’t in favor of it, and the idea was axed as well. The problems continued through the final editing of the film, when Shirish apparently didn’t agree with the changes Akshay wanted made. Post that, Akshay began distancing himself from the project, choosing instead to promote From Sydney With Love and his own film, Oh My God.
Farah Khan maintains that Akshay’s absence was not due to a fight, but rather a different approach to marketing the film – they wanted to focus on the aliens instead. I agree that the aliens should have been a big part of the promotion, but I don’t think anyone would willingly ask a huge star like Akshay to stay away from the promotions – so I’m not buying this excuse! What about you?