R Balki directed PadMan featuring Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor will now hit screens on February 9, 2018 instead of its earlier announced date of January 26, 2018. Akshay Kumar made the announcement at a press meet on Friday where he said,
“See, we are one family and I can understand he (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) has gone through a lot, he has put a lot of money, the studio people have put a lot of money. I would want Padmaavat to release solo and would like to wish him luck. PadMaan will now release on February 9.”
Interestingly, the press meet was also attended by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who had earlier requested Akshay for the date push. He thanked Kumar thanked him by saying, “It takes a large heart and a lot of goodness. I will be grateful to him for a lifetime for what he has done”. Padmaavat's lead stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh took to their respective twitter accounts to thank the Khiladi star for his "grand gesture".
— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) January 19, 2018
Thank you @akshaykumar for being ever so gracious. Can’t wait to see #padman. Much love and luck. From team #padmaavat
— Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) January 19, 2018
Big Man with a Big Heart! @akshaykumar ... Grateful to you, Sir ....❤️ Mad Love and Respect 🙏🏽
— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) January 19, 2018