Akshay Kumar ropes in his new friend to play a pivotal part in his forthcoming film 'Khiladi 786'

Akshay Kumar has found a new friend, this time in Mithun Chakraborty. We learnt that during the filming of Housefull 2, the two got so pally that Akki asked Mithun to be a part of his next film that he is co-producing with Himesh Reshammiya.

According to an industry source, apart from John Abraham, Akshay got along with the veteran actor like a house on fire. "They're very particular about their respective workout sessions and have a great love for food.

They bonded on these aspects during the film's schedule in London," recalls our source, adding that when they last met, Akki had told Mithun that he would love to work with him again.

However, little did Mithunda know that it would lead to something so concrete so soon. Buzz is that initially Amitabh Bachchan was considered for the same role, that of a don, who also happenes to be the heroine's (Nargis Fakhri) brother. However, due to his inability to shoot extensively till September on health grounds, the makers apparently considered Anil Kapoor.

However, after many discussions within the team, Mithun was approached and soon finalised for the part. Incidentally, the senior actor is also believed to be quite pally with the director, debutant Ashish R Mohan.

Further, our source adds that there will be a number of clashing dramatic scenes between Mithun and Akshay, who plays a cop. "How their characters change towards each other also forms an interesting part of the storyline," points out our informer.