When the curtain rose on the trailer of ‘Bhooth Bangla’, the spotlight briefly shifted from the film to a story that stunned everyone present. Producer Ekta Kapoor recalled an incident with Akshay Kumar that revealed a side of him few had seen. Their earlier collaboration, ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara!’ had faltered commercially yet what followed left her speechless. “He is the only actor who called me up after our first film didn’t do well,” remembered Ekta. “I don’t know why he called me to meet him. I went the next morning to see him. He gave me a cheque and said, ‘I know you have lost money, so here take your money.’ I was in shock. No one does this. In my 31 years, nobody has done this. And so casually he said, ‘Here, take back the money,’” she added. Instead of cashing the cheque, Ekta countered with a request: “I said, ‘No sir, just do a film with me. I’ll earn a lot if you do a film with me.’” That conversation has finally borne fruit, bringing them together again after more than ten years. ‘Bhooth Bangla’ not only fulfills that promise but also reunites Akshay with Priyadarshan, a director whose comedies with him have become part of Bollywood’s cherished legacy.
