Akshay Kumar has got 3 films to release in 2018 and he has wrapped up all the 3. While ‘ Padman ’ is just a month away, Khiladi Kumar has also finished shooting his part for Rajinikanth starrer, ‘ 2.0 ’ and Reema Kagti ’s upcoming sports drama film, ‘ Gold ’. While he is done with his 2018’s film schedule, the energetic actor will start shooting for his upcoming film, ‘ Kesari ’ (2019), from January 2018. At the song launch of ‘ Padman ’, Akshay said to a leading daily, "The title has been finalized as ‘Kesari'. I will start working on the film in January. We will be continuously shooting for it after the release of 'Padman'."

Early this year, Salman Khan officially announced that he will be producing ‘ Kesari ’ with Karan’s Dharma Productions and Akshay will be the lead of the film, but things didn’t work out and Salman backed out from the project. When the same was asked to Akshay, he replied, “Yes, we couldn't do it. I am making the film with Karan Johar and that's it."

Akshay is the undisputed winner of the box office. His films may not earn Rs. 200 or 300 crores but collectively he always remains at the top of the game. His upcoming film ‘ Padman ’, which is releasing on 26th January, will clash with Neeraj Pandey ’s ‘ Aiyaary ’. And when the actor was asked about the clash, he said, “Both the films are absolutely different from each other. Neeraj Pandey is a dear friend. And, yes, this word ‘clash' has actually come from media. We have no problem in releasing films. There are around 4,000-5,000 screens in India and my film is screened in 2,800 screens. I think it's fair enough."