Apr 12, 2026 9:30am IST
Nikkhil Advani Says Akshay Kumar Wants Him to Make ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ Sequel (EXCLUSIVE)
Salman Khan’s “Salaam-E-Ishq” and Akshay Kumar’s “Chandni Chowk to China” tanked at the box office during their theatrical releases, but they achieved cult status over the years.
Director Nikkhil Advani, who helmed both these films, reacted when asked about the romantic drama ("Salaam-E-Ishq") achieving ‘cult status’ and being turned into a franchise film.
The filmmaker agreed, saying it’s the right time to turn the film into a franchise. “It’s a good time for a franchise for ‘Salaam-E-Ishq.’ It's primarily because I know the mistakes I made over there,” shares Advani.
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However, he shared his problem with the term ‘cult status’ and revealed how Akshay Kumar often suggests that Nikhil make a sequel to “Chandni Chowk to China.” “In this sense, I hate this term ‘Cult Status.’ All my films have got cult status. ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ has a huge cult status. Akshay (Kumar) calls me every time the film is on some satellite channel. He calls me and says, ‘Karte Hai Yaar, Part 2 Karte Hai’ (Let’s make part 2). And if you go to Reddit or any other portal, there’s a massive discussion on when ‘Chandni Chowk to Africa’ (2nd part, which was announced at the end of ‘Chandni Chowk to China’) is coming, etc, etc. My point is that. I wish it had cult status and box-office status.”
Apart from Akshay, the 2009 action-comedy also features Deepika Padukone, Mithun Chakraborty, Roger Yuan and Hong Kong actor Gordon Liu in pivotal roles. The film was co-produced by Warner Bros.
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