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| Patiala House is an upcoming Bollywood film being directed by Nikhil Advani and starring Akshay Kumar and Anushka Sharma. Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia will play important roles in the film. The film began shooting in December 2009. |
Feb 9, 2011, CHANDIGARH: After the box office success of 'Singh is King' – which unleashed a flurry of products carrying the famous tag line and almost every other Sikh youth had a tee stretched across his broad chest, glorifying Singh as king – Akshay Kumar's director and producers are once again all set to showcase him in a Sikh family setting in about-to-be-released 'Patiala House.'
However, the controversy over his Sikh image in 'Singh is King', in which he had sported a trimmed beard look and for which he had to apologise to the clergy and then reshoot some of the scenes with a full beard and moustache, has apparently convinced the filmmakers and the actor to stick to a safe path and adopt the look of a 'mona' Sikh who is a clean-shaven sardar.
That apart, the only connection that 'Patiala House,' the movie, has with Patiala is the name. The movie is otherwise set in Southall, London, and the filmmakers had originally planned to hold a world premiere in London and Mumbai later this week, before Akshay came to Punjab and met the Badals at a films award function.
Now, 'Patiala House,' which is said to be loosely inspired by the life of cricketer Monty Panesar, the only Sikh member of England's cricket team, will open up in a star-lit gathering on Thursday in SRS Theatre located in Patiala which is the erstwhile royal seat of the Patiala Maharaja. Sources say this might also include Akshay Kumar, Dimple Kapadia and Anushka Sharma.
Media reports quoting director Nikhil Advani said that still-gorgeous Dimple Kapadia, who is Akshay's mother in law, but plays Akshay's mom in the movie, along with the heroine, Anushka Sharma will also be attending the screening at Patiala on Thursday, February 10.
There is no clarity on whether it was Akshay or Sukhbir Badal who first suggested the idea of shifting the premiere to Patiala when the two met at a TV channel's award function held last week at Panchkula, but the idea has found favour with both, the politician and the actor. The latter, incidentally, hails from Punjab's Amritsar town.
The movie is named after the Kahlon family's house 'Patiala House' in Southall where Pargat Singh Kahlon (played by Akshay) is born and raised by Gurtej Singh Kahlon (played by a turban-wearing Rishi Kapoor) and his wife (Dimple Kapadia) in a racially scarred UK back in the 70s, and where he dreams of becoming a cricketer, but is dissuaded by his 'gora'-hating father.