Akshay can’t wait to start OUATIM 2: Milan Luthria

New Delhi: Bollywood`s original ‘Khiladi’ Akshay Kumar can`t wait to step into the shoes of Ajay Devgn in the much awaited sequel of the hit gangster drama ‘One Upon A Time In Mumbaai’.

Director Milan Luthria is busy helming `The Dirty Picture` now but says that Akshay is raring to go for the film which will see him play an underworld don. "This will be my first film with Akshay. As a director it helps you immensely when your actor is super charged about a film," Luthria told reporters. "Akshay is excited about OUATIM 2. He can`t wait for the film to go on floors. I guess that by itself qualifies for more than half the job being done," said the director. Milan is well aware of the expectations from the second film which follows the Ajay Devgn-Emraan Hashmi starrer original, which created magic at the Box Office. "I know the kind of expectations that everyone has from the sequel. OUATIM 2 is different from a regular franchise product as the same story is being carried forward. But it is still early days to comment on how do we take forward the story," said the filmmaker. "I have to first finish off `The Dirty Picture` (Vidya Balan, Naseruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor). While I would be preparing for its release, ground work on the sequel would be in full swing," said the filmmaker. Both `The Dirty Picture` as well as OUATIM 2, are being produced by Ekta Kapoor. But it wasn`t long ago that a riff between the director-producer duo was reported. "I had always maintained that there are no issues between Ekta and me. It has always been a collaborative effort since she has such a strong production experience due to her stint in television. Also what works in my favour is that she has that unshakable belief in me," said Luthria. "All through the times when so much was being written and spoken about me before OUATIM released, it was she who stood like a pillar of support. She in fact used to motivate me by saying that Bollywood had to wake up to me as I hadn`t got my due," he added. PTI