EXCLUSIVE: Akshay Kumar refuses to go on Kapil Sharma’s show to promote Bachchan Pandey

It seems not all is well between actor Akshay Kumar and comedian Kapil Sharma, and the promotion of Sajid Nadiadwala’s upcoming Kumar-starrer Bachchan Pandey, scheduled for a Holi release on 18th March seems to have been caught in the middle.

Sources tells us that it all started when Kumar appeared on The Kapil Sharma show recently. The comedian asked him about an interview he did with a ‘famous personality’ where Kumar asked him how he liked eating mangoes. He was supposedly alluding to an interview that the actor did with PM Modi a few years back. The clip of this exchange between the two is what led to the friction.

In the clip, Kumar goes on to challenge Kapil to openly name the personality, while the comedian diverts the subject. The source, that wishes to stay anonymous, says that apparently after the shoot got over, the actor requested the channel to not air this portion as it made light of the PM’s office.

“Akshay took all of Kapil’s jokes head-on but the dig on the PM interview seemed to mock the dignity of such a high office. So Akshay requested the channel to not air that question. It is a right of the guests to make such a request as the show is not live. The channel agreed, but the said scene was leaked on the internet soon after,” says the source. It adds, “It was a breach of trust on the part of someone in Kapil’s team, and Akshay sought a clarification before he appears on the show again. “

In the absence of a response from Kapil, the shoot of the episode featuring the cast of Bachchan Pandey, directed by Farhad Samji and co starring Kriti Sanon and Jacqueline Fernandez, has been postponed for now. “Hope all is sorted between Akshay and Kapil soon, otherwise the film’s promotion suffers, and the fans of the banter between the two continue to miss the fun, add the source.