The Special 26 actor, considered to be one of the prime factors for the success of the original 2007 comedy, will be replaced by his Desi Boyz co-star in the second part
Of late, we have been witnessing a lot of our B-town heroes replacing their male counterparts in crucial roles. For example, Saif Ali Khan replaced Hrithik Roshan in Kabir Khan’s next; newbie Vidyut Jamwal is reportedly stepping into Irrfan Khan’s shoes in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Bullet Raja etc. We don’t mind it one bit if the replacement is justified. But when we heard about Akshay Kumar not featuring in the second installment of producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s Welcome, we just couldn’t believe it.
Going back in time, it’s learnt that Nadiadwala waited for almost four years for Akshay’s approval for the third installment of his most anticipated sequel to Hera Pheri, but it didn’t materialise. He had then said that he couldn’t afford signing Akshay. Hmm… wonder what the Khiladi must be charging now?
As per industry insiders, John Abraham is now Firoz’s choice for Welcome 2, which is being helmed by Anees Bazmee. We think the makers’ must have considered John’s stock of promising films lined up for release this year – Shootout At Wadala and Dostana 2 – but we still feel that Akshay is a much better actor than John. So whose loss is it ultimately – Akshay for not doing Welcome 2 or Anees and Firoz for not being able to afford him anymore?