“Moving Padman For Padmaavat Was Least We Could Do”: R. Balki

When Sanjay Leela Bhansali approached the Padman team requesting to shift their release date to give a clear release window to his Padmaavat, he looked shaken and troubled, says director R. Balki.

Balki, who has directed Padman, said agreeing to Bhansali’s request was the least they could have done for a fellow fraternity member, who has gone through a tumultous time to release his movie.

Padman actor Akshay Kumar held a press conference last week with Bhansali, announcing the decision to move Padman for a February 9 release rather than a January 25 clash with Padmaavat.

“It was a decision taken almost instantaneously by all of us in the Padman team when Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Viacom 18, the producers of Padmaavat, approached us with the request that we move. It didn’t take us a minute to agree to their request.

“It’s the least we could do for a project that has gone through so much. Padmaavat needs the Republic Day slot more than us. We don’t mind moving ahead by two weeks because we know whenever we come, we have a winning project on hand,” Balki said.

He added: “Sanjay Bhansali looked so shaken and troubled. My heart reached out to him. Isn’t it about time we in the film industry stopped projecting an impression of a house divided? At the end of the day, all of us filmmakers belong to the same fraternity.