On his 52nd birthday yesterday, Akshay Kumar announced that he has joined forces with Yash Raj Films for Prithviraj. The historical drama, which has him play the Rajput king from the Chahamana dynasty, is scheduled to release on Diwali 2020. Considering his horror comedy Laxmmi Bomb and Bachchan Pandey were already announced as Eid and Christmas offerings respectively, the actor has, in effect, booked the three biggest festivals — earlier counted as the domain of the Khan trio — for his films.

For an actor who has rarely relied on the advantage of festival releases in his 28-year career, Kumar seems to be adopting a new strategy. Trade expert Amod Mehra attributes the change to the recent success of Mission Mangal, which was an Independence Day release. "While most of his films would earn anywhere between Rs 125-150 crore, Mission Mangal touched the Rs 200-crore mark," says Mehra.