After the success of Jolly LLB 2, the makers of the franchise announced the third instalment in the series where Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi will be pitted against each other in Jolly LLB 3. Interestingly, it was Shah Rukh Khan who was supposed to be cast alongside Akshay Kumar and not Arshad Warsi, if the reports are to be believed. But King Khan opted out of the project.
According to a report in Catch News, the film's director Subhash Kapoor had approached Shah Rukh Khan for Jolly LLB 3 but the superstar rejected the offer.
A source close to the film reportedly revealed that Shah Rukh Khan turned down the offer as he didn't want to compete with Akshay Kumar as people might start comparing their stardom and didn't want to star in a two hero film at the moment. Fox Star Studio had signed three film deals with Akshay Kumar, who is supposed to take forward the Jolly LLB series.
Akshay Kumar has given back-to-back hits in the last couple of years while Shah Rukh Khan's films have been struggling to rake in money at the box office. SRK's films like Dilwale, Raees and Jab Harry Met Sejal performed below the expectations of the makers while Akshay Kumar's films like Airlift, Rustom, Jolly LLB 2 and Toilet - Ek Prem Katha have all entered into the coveted Rs 100 crore club.
This might be one of the reasons for Shah Rukh Khan to feel insecure about his dipping stardom and to reject a film alongside Akshay Kumar.
On the work front, Akshay Kumar will be seen next in Padman alongside Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte. He will also be seen in Gold, a biopic based on the life of hockey player Balbir Singh Sr. when his team won the first Olympic medal for India in 1948. SRK, on the other hand, will be seen sharing space with Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif in Aanand L Rai's yet-to-be-titled film.
