Akshay gives a house; Salman to give away tigers?

Akshay gives a house; Salman to give away tigers?

By Joginder Tuteja, July 12, 2011 - 11:29 IST

On-screen rivalry of Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan has now taken a new turn with things heating up at the front of Housefull 2. So while Yash Chopra and Co. have already announced plans of bringing their Salman Khan biggie Ek Tha Tiger on the same day as Housefull 2, Sajid Nadiadwala too isn't lying low.

"While Nadiadwala is already pushing his team for timely completion of the film, he has also engaged his marketing and promotion team to come up with innovative ideas to make Housefull 2 far hotter than Ek Tha Tiger. Amongst many ideas that have been thrown around, the one which has caught his fancy is the one which will cost him at least a crore", informs a closely attached source.

This expenditure comes from a contest that would be launched as good as six months before the release of Housefull 2. While details of this contest are still being closely guarded lest the secret is out and participants get a much longer time to prepare, the gift that awaits them is a 'house' which would come with a tag of at least one crore.

"With Salman's threat of Ek Tha Tiger looming large, Sajid has no choice but to up the budget further to be ahead in the race. Housefull 2 is anyways the costliest ever film being made by him with an estimated budget of Rs. 75 crores. Now with real houses being given as gifts to audience, expect the film's budget to further soar", informs an insider on condition of anonymity.

Given the kind of contests in the pipeline, many in the industry are wondering about the approach that Salman and Chopras would be taking to counter Sajid's campaign.

"If Akshay would be handing over the house keys to the winners, what would Salman give for Ek Tha Tiger? A tiger perhaps", quips a unit member, "But then that won't be original either. After all Akki has already gifted one to Lara and Riteish in the past. Remember that scene from Houseful where he brings a tiger home. Guess Salman too would have to get a lot more innovative in order to make his tiger race ahead."

Whatever really happens in the end, the fact is that the war has just begun and despite their friendship, neither Sajid nor Salman is willing to take it lying down.

Akshay gives a house; Salman to give away tigers?

wandering, what he gave while he was promoting Meray Biwi Ki Jawab Nahin.