Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary and Akshay Kumar starrer PadMan were supposed to release on the Republic Day weekend, but now Aiyaary’s release date has been moved to February 9.

Ever since news broke that Padmavat (earlier titled Padmavati) starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh will be arriving on January 25 along with Akshay Kumar’s PadMan, there has been mayhem about the big box office clash. And amid all this, Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary seems to have made a smart move. Aiyaary, starring Manoj Bajpayee, Sidharth Malhotra and Rakul Preet Singh was also supposed to release on the same Republic Day weekend. But now its makers have postponed its release to February 9. The film also stars Pooja Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles.

Team of Aiyaary has decided to shift the release of the film to avoid a face-off with two of the biggest and most awaited releases this season – Padmavat and PadMan. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh confirmed the news with his tweet that read, “It’s OFFICIAL… #Aiyaary shifted to 9 Feb 2018… Neeraj Pandey directs… Stars Sidharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpayee, Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher.”

Padmavat was supposed to release last year on December 1, but after various political and religious groups took offense regarding the movie’s name and content, its release was deferred. On the other hand, PadMan had booked its January 25 release along with Aiyaary.

Akshay Kumar had recently reacted on the clash of his film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavat saying, “It is not about competition, it is a very big day, a big week, so all the films can come, both the films can release on that day. Every film has the right to release whenever they want, and I am happy for them.”

Sonam Kapoor, who also features in PadMan, had said that she is glad that Padmavat is finally releasing.

“Is it really coming? It is not announced officially, isn’t it? If it is, it is good. There is a need for competition when it comes to films and high time that the film releases. Good cinema is good cinema. I don’t believe in competition. Our film is very simple and sweet, and honestly, I am just happy that the film is releasing, more than anything else, and I hope the film does well. I am pretty sure that there is no official statement from the production house of the film (Padmavat) release.”

Source : indianexpress.com