Now Sonakshi also deserts Joker promotions!

Even as Shirish Kunder and wife Farah Khan are busy clearing the air left murky by recent reports about lead actor Akshay Kumar deserting the promotions of Joker, the filmmaker finds himself facing a fresh set of problems.

On one hand, his leading lady Sonakshi Sinha, to honour her relationship with Akshay (they worked together several times and Akki also threw her a birthday bash), has decided to follow the actor's footsteps and to stay away from the promotions of the film. And on the other, Shirish's next venture Kick has been postponed further. According to sources, his hero Salman Khan isn't too happy with the script and producer Sajid Nadiadwala has sent Shirish back to the drawing board.

When we contacted Sajid, though he defended the script, he did confirm that the film would now go on floors next year. "Firstly, I want to make it clear that Kick is indeed happening. Salman is the lead actor and Shirish the director. A few dialogues are being changed and a little shuffling here and there. Whether the leading lady will be a newcomer or a popular face depends on Salman's dates. As soon as he finalises his schedule with us, we will lock the actress next week," said the producer.

But this is however, just one of Shirish's many problems. A more immediate issue is the promotional activities of Joker. With Sonakshi deciding to stay away from the film as much as her co-star Akshay, a huge question mark looms over the fate of his upcoming film.

Farah, however, defends the film and her husband by assigning Akki and Sonakshi's absence from the film's promotions to 'marketing strategy'. "Akshay and Sonakshi have been overexposed during the promotions of Rowdy. She wanted to focus on the aliens this time around," added a source close to her.