Sajid calls Akshay a flop, gets booted

His unsparing assessment of the star's career on a TV show reportedly led to his ouster from the Housefull franchise

Creative differences with Sajid Nadiadwala may be part of the problem but the real reason why Sajid Khan will not wield the megaphone for the producer's next, Housefull 3, is the spat he has had with the star of the franchise - Akshay Kumar.

During a recent show on TV, when host Rajeev Masand asked Sajid why he doesn't work with newcomers, he replied: "Housefull 1 and Housefull 2, sort of, got Akshay out of a bad patch of six to seven flop films. He had a run of six to seven flop films, after which Housefull became the first big grosser in 2010. Then again, he had a patch of six to seven films. Then again, it was Housefull 2."

Not surprisingly, Sajid's comments did not go down well with Akshay, who promptly called him and gave him a piece of his mind. "It was a big showdown. The conversation ended with Akshay telling Sajid he didn't want to interact with him anymore," revealed a friend of the actor.

"Akshay is very angry and has told his buddies about it. Even filmmakers like Karan Johar, Rajkumar Hirani and Farhan Akhtar don't pass such remarks. Like every other actor, Akshay has had his share of highs and lows. More significantly, he is on a firm footing right now," the friend pointed out.

When word about the fiasco reached Nadiadwala, he decided Sajid would not direct Housefull 3, especially since he is very close to Akshay, whom he considers family. While Sajid remained unavailable for comment, a source close to him said: "He is in a very bad mood after Himmatwala tanked, and is keeping a rather low profile. He has had a big fight with his girlfriend, Jacqueline Fernandez, and nobody quite knows whether he is in Mumbai right now."

Meanwhile
Sajid Khan has been busy trying to get a writer for his next - a remake of the 1982 cult comedy Angoor, written and directed by Gulzar. However, TOI has learnt he hasn't been successful so far. At least four writers, including Milap Zaveri, Yunus Sajawal, Rumi Jaffrey and Sajid-Farhad have refused to pen the dialogues of his film, said to star Saif Ali Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. While the writers have been rather non-commital, industry sources reveal their hesitation springs from the fact that they don't want to antagonise close friend Rohit Shetty, who has officially bought the remake rights of the original.

When contacted, Milap (Delhi Safari, Housefull) simply said, "I am very busy with Anil Kapoor's TV show. I would love to work with Shetty one day..." Yunus said, "I am occupied writing Shetty's Singham 2," while Rumi (Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, Chatur Singh Two Star) and Sajid-Farhad (Golmaal, Himmatwala) claimed Sajid didn't approach them at all.

According to sources, Sajid-Farhad too refused Sajid after Himmatwala flopped. The writers claim Sajid hadn't stuck to their writing while Sajid pinned the film's failure on them. Meanwhile, Sanjay Chhel (Rascals, Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji) admitted Sajid had asked him to work on the dialogues however, "That was before Himmatwala released. After that, I haven't heard from him," he said.

Just when we thought there would be no more, at the time of going to press, we heard Bachchan may not be part of Sajid's version of Angoor after all. Bachchan did not revert to our query but Sajid's spokesperson called to say, "Sajid has never met Milap and Yunus. As for Sajid-Farhad, Sajid was well aware they were planning to direct a film."