Diwali release Cancelled

Chandni Chowk to China was to a have a big Diwali release. The film will now release some time in January 2009.The reason behind this delay is said to be the poorly exposed shooting cans.

The film will have to be re-shot. The biggest hurdle, however, is that lead actor Akshay Kumar cannot give them dates.

A source in the industry says, "Nikhil Advani''s directorial venture Chandni Chowk to China was supposed to be readied for a Diwali release. To meet the deadline, the unit and the actors shot round the clock to finish the film. The last shooting stint was held a month ago in China, just before the Olympics. During post-production, however, the unit members discovered that four cans containing the final prints of the shot material turned out to be foggy. The real reason for this technical hitch is still not known. For now, they can't seem to retrieve anything in the destroyed cans."

The source continues, "As things stand, the makers have an incomplete film on hand. The makers are planning to re-shoot the lost material and now want the next release date for the film (January 16). They will either plan to shoot the film now on a set that will be erected in a Mumbai studio, or they will once again go back to China to can it. But the problem is Akki's date diary is full till mid 2009 and it's upto him to squeeze in the required 10 days to complete CC2C." The film is allegedly based on his true life experiences as a cook in Bangkok.