It is no coincidence that Akshay Kumar’s nearly-abandoned film, Kesari, has been revived around the same time that Karan Johar has been unveiled as the presenter of the Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar-starrer 2.0. The projects have two factors in common – Akshay and Karan, and this seems to be a ‘you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours’ kind of a deal.

A bit of history – in February 2017, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan announced that they would be producing a film based on the Battle of Saragarhi of 1897, with Akshay playing the lead role. But when Karan refused to produce Salman’s brother-in-law Aayush Sharma’s debut film, he had a falling-out with Salman, causing the Kesari project to be shelved.

However, Akshay seems to have found a way to get the film back on track. Apparently, he personally stepped in to get Karan Johar on board as the presenter of Shankar’s 2.0.

“That’s when he raised the question of Kesari’s revival, and Karan, who’s currently into period films, decided to put Akshay’s beloved project back on its feet,” a source says.

Kesari, directed by famed Punjabi director Anurag Singh, is now scheduled for release on Independence Day 2019. Rumour has it that actor Diljit Dosanjh, who’s worked with Anurag several times in the past, is likely to join the Kesari cast soon.