Filmmaker Nikhil Advani miffed that the date has been pushed so that the star's comedies release first

Akshay Kumar is sure that comedies always work for him at the box office. His upcoming films -- Vipul Shah's Action Replayy and Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan, are full-blown comedies.

But filmmaker Nikhil Advani, who has finished shooting Patiala House with Kumar, is not amused. His film is in queue to release and will have to wait Akshay's comedies release. Advani's 'non-comedy' hits screens in February 2011.

Patiala House is the cross generation story of a Sikh family in the UK grappling with racism and prejudice in sports, definitely not Kumar's supposed favourite genre -- comedy.

Nikhil Advani previously delivered a colossal dud with Chandni Chowk To China, starring Akshay. Ironically it was a comedy. Patiala House's release has been pushed forward not once but twice, to accommodate Action Replayy in November (19) and make way for Tees Maar Khan in December (24). Advani also plans to release the first teaser of Patiala House the day Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan releases.

Frantic editing in progress

Advani, who is currently frantically trying to edit the film, admits he wants no overlapping with Kumar's comic films. Says Advani, "Patiala House is not a comedy. That will be made clear when my first promo is released on December 24, the day Akshay's Tees Maar Khan releases. And yes I don't want any overlapping with Akshay's other films."

Reasons for delay

Advani started work on Patiala House around the same time as Tees Maar Khan. He attributes the delay in release to various factors. "Patiala House was spans three generations. We also had to deal with politics in cricket. That slowed down the film."

Advani has a reputation for lengthy films -- Salaam-e-Ishq lasted nearly four hours. He is struggling to stick to two hour-thirty-minutes with Patiala House. "It's bound to occupy a larger space than Akshay's comedies. His fans will have to bear with that."