Mumbai: Sunny Leone’s second film after Jism 2 was supposed to be Ragini MMS 2. Ekta Kapoor was the second producer (after Mahesh Bhatt) to sign the adult film star. (The item song Laila in Shootout At Wadala does not count). But Ekta’s film was pushed to January 2014.
And now, her second film will be Jackpot with Sachiin Joshi. Full page ads in the newspapers yesterday announced the date of release as December 13.
This is an unexpected turn of events because this film directed by Kaizad Gustad went on the floors just six months ago and no one expected it to be ready for release this year. Sachiin who began 2013 with a film (Mumbai Mirror) also wanted to end the year with a film, so they rushed to have a December release. This has upset Ekta’s plans. In December they will promote Ragini MMS and another Sunny film at that time is just bad timing and bad economics. Also, they lose their USP — of being Sunny’s second release.
Says an industry insider, “If Sachiin’s film had come after Ragini, it would have helped him, as it is backed by a big production house and they will give it the kind of release it deserves. If Jackpot comes first, it might hurt Ekta’s film because it is almost November and no one has even heard of the film yet, while Ragini is a franchise that people have seen and liked.”
The question here is will Ekta who shares a cordial relationship with Sachiin call him to postpone his film?
Sachiin says, “Raagini MMS 2 was supposed to release on October 11 and I had announced Jackpot’s release in December. I am going ahead with my release on December 13. Ekta is a good friend but I can’t postpone my film now. It will look stale. Her CEO Tanuj Garg called up asking me to change the date from December 13 but how can I? I don’t know if it’s destiny but I am getting a solo week and I want people to enjoy the film.” Dhoom 3 comes after that and then Jackpot may get overshadowed. He adds, “It’s a calculated risk for me. If I postpone it after January I wouldn’t get a clear date. My release date has been finalised internally and the entire unit, cast and crew is geared up for its release in December. It will be wrong to push it now.
I am not the only person involved with Jackpot. I want to tell Ekta it’s not intentional and there’s no deliberate attempt here to sabotage her film. It’s purely a business decision. I respect her but she always takes it personally. She had the same problem with Shah Rukh too. When I had met her in Boston I had explained to her the same thing. She wants us to change according to what she wants but we all are into the business of cinema. I also told her that whatever help she needs for the marketing and promotion of Ragini MMS 2 I will give her but I can’t change the date.”
