Akshay Kumar starrer Bachchhan Paandey is the big Holi release this year. Directed by Farhad Samji, the action-comedy also stars Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Sanjay Mishra, Prateik Babbar, Pankaj Tripathi among others. The release of Bachchhan Paandey marks Akshay's first release of the year. The actor has previously proven that he can get audiences back to the theatres with Sooryavanshi but with The Kashmir Files having a stronghold at the cinemas at the moment, Akshay could face a challenge in terms of drawing audiences to his film. Film trade analyst Girish Johar, in a conversation with indianexpress.com, previously said that the film could open at Rs 14-15 crore. "Akshay Kumar is a huge draw at the box office. Also, the film is a hardcore commercial entertainer," he said. Talking about the film's competition with The Kashmir Files, Johar said, "I see that Bachchhan Paandey will have to give a tough fight to The Kashmir Files to earn profit. Having said that, if Bachchhan Paandey is received well, it will have a bounty weekend for sure because both films are like chalk and cheese. While Kashmir Files is a gut-wrenching film, Bachchhan Paandey is a commercial masala entertainer backed by Akshay Kumar." Apart from Akshay's film, the weekend also sees the release of Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah starrer Jalsa on Amazon Prime Video. Web series Bloody Brothers, Eternally Confused and Eager for Love and Apharan 2 are also releasing on the same day.
