MI was always releasing on 25th:Lakhia

The release date of Mission Istaanbul has been postponed to 25th July from July 11th. Sources say that Apoorva Lakhia has done it out of respect for Sanjay Dutt, because Mehbooba has been in the making for almost ten years.

Director Apoorva Lakhia, who has worked with Sanju Sir in last year's runaway hit Shootout At Lokhandwala, rubbishes all these rumours. "Mission Istaanbul was always releasing on the 25th. We have not made any changes for Mehbooba."

It has been reported that Sanjay Dutt requested producer Suniel Shetty to postpone it because he did not want any competition for Mehbooba as the producer and director Afzal Khan has already suffered several losses due to Sanjay's jail term. Mehbooba was the second film Sanju signed after Rocky.

Getting back to his film, Mission Istaanbul's sub-title is 'Daar ke aage jeet hai. Why is that so? "That's because we have a tie up with Mountain Dew and it suits the movie as well because it is filled with daredevil stunts."

So what is the USP of Mission Istaanbul? "Mission Istaanbul is a fast paced action thriller with good music and great locales. It's the first Hindi film to be shot in Istaanbul and we have also roped in famous belly dancer Taanyeli. The music has an Indian version of World Hold On."

Mission Istaanbul is produced by Suniel Shetty's Popcorn Entertainment and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Films. It stars Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Nikitin Dheer and Suniel Shetty. Southern siren Shriya Saran and Shweta Bhardwaj will add female power to the film.