‘Welcome Back’ postponed, will now release on January 23rd to take on Akshay Kumar

The fallout that Akshay Kumar and Sajid Nadiadwala had some time ago is firing up the box office calendar. The delay in completion of the ‘Welcome’ sequel has now made producer Sajid Nadiadwala push the release date to January 23^rd where two of Akshay Kumar starrer are already placed for release.

Welcome Back, the sequel to the 2007 hit comedy Welcome, was initially being prepared for a Christmas release this year, but with the failure of catching up on the set schedule, the film has now been pushed to the Republic Day weekend next year. One would wonder what prospects would that set since Akshay Kumar’s ‘Baby’ directed by Neeraj Pandey and ‘Gabbar’ directed by Krish have also been scheduled to release the same day. Of course the makers would be willing to shift one of the releases to a later date but with ‘Welcome Back’ coming up, the Friday would set the tone high for a fiery clash.

The observable question coming here is if it is a deliberate move by Sajid to hamper an Akshay Kumar release and officially declare their rivalry? ‘Welcome’ directed by Aneez Bazmee in 2007 had Akshay Kumar in the lead with Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor in prominent roles. While the core cast has been retained for the sequel, Akshay has been replaced by John Abraham this time. The film was earlier set to clash with Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’ but with two more schedules yet to be shot in Dubai and Mumbai, the delay has taken place. Wonder what the Republic Day will be like with as many three big releases booked already.