Akshay Kumar has not been that lucky at the box-office with his previous few releases like ‘Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara’ and ‘Boss’. It is learnt that while speaking to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Viacom 18 was deciding to step out of ‘Gabbar’ that stars the actor.

However, again they are back in the project as co-producer. They are quite confident that this time Akshay will give a hit.

A source close to the development said, “Last year, the studio struck a big deal with SLB Films for their upcoming movies. But after a while it decided to go slow on the commitments and renegotiate on a few deals, following which there were multiple meetings with Bhansali.”

But, recently the production gained confidence in the actor and re-approached Bhansali.

The source added, “The deal has been locked at Rs 78 crore. Akshay was clear on the price and didn’t want any renegotiation arguing that certain films need a budget and ‘ Gabbar’ is one of them. The studio is happy with the final outcome.”

‘Gabbar’ stars Akshay Kumar, Shruti Haasan and Sonu Sood.