By Hindustan Times
Close at the heels of a far public spat between actors Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Shirish Kunder, Akshay Kumar and John Abraham almost came to blows on Friday at their film’s screening. Caught on camera by our photographer who was late in leaving the venue after the screening in their upcoming film Housefull 2 at a theatre in Mumbai, the actors got right into a heated argument that soon escalated into what gave the impression of a physical fight. While most guests had left by then, the few eyewitnesses revealed that the altercation got to some degree where the actors’ bodyguards needed to intervene. The non-public screening of the film, meant for close friends, and family, apparently ignited a debate about who was behind the success in their last hit Desi Boyz (2011), which fared well on the box-office.
“Someone made a joke comparing the two, and what started as a harmless banter suddenly got serious. Back within the day there have been some rumours of rivalry between the 2 even during their film Garam Masala (2005); in order that can have made matters worse. Either one of them are known to be hot headed anyway,” said a crew member of Housefull’s production team, requesting anonymity.
Ironically, the 2 have maintained a cordial relationship within the press as there were regular reports about Akshay’s son, Aarav, being a large fan of John. The actors who got miffed at spotting our shutterbug clicking pictures, refused to reply to our messages. ‘Everything’s well. It was only a silly argument that’s sorted,” explained the film’s spokesperson later.
Bollywood’s on a brief fuse
Of late, there were several instances of Bollywood personalities coming into physical fights and subsequently hitting headlines for the incorrect reasons. On January 29, actor Shah Rukh Khan allegedly slapped filmmaker Shirish Kunder (left) at a bash hosted by Sanjay Dutt to celebrate the success of Agneepath. On February 22, actor Saif Ali Khan got into an unsightly brawl with NRI Iqbal Sharma and allegedly punched him, breaking the latter’s nose.
