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A six-month stint for Akshay-Deepika in China

will start shooting in January 2008. Shanghai and Beijing are the locations selected. And the ancient Chinese 'soft-hard' martial art style Wushu will be used to make the action look virginal and virile in the movie.

Akshay Kumar, who hasn't done a full-on action movie in seven years, is currently joined at the 'hype' with his lissome co-star Deepika Padukone to learn this little-known martial arts style. Wushu has big promoters on screen in the shape and form of Hollywood biggies Jackie Chan and Jet Li. And Akshay, who has always idolised Jackie, is delighted to be learning it.

In Made In China, he gets to pay a homage to his idol. Akshay has been a martial arts student for years, said director Nikhil Advani. The Wushu style is very big in China. Jet Li and Jackie Chan constantly practice it. The athletic Deepika, who has played badminton for several years, is currently undergoing rigorous training in Wushu.

Apparently, the script was written with Akshay in mind. Said Advani, My writer Sridhar Raghavan and my producer Rohan Sippy designed the film with Akshay in mind. It was him or no one else. We needed a lead pair who could do the action scenes with the grace of dancers. Both Deepika and Akshay are phenomenal dancers and athletes.

Made In China will be shot at a stretch of over six months from January to May 2008 in China. Akshay and Deepika will be there almost all the while. They aren't complaining. But wonder how their families are going to take this long break. It's enough to make Twinkle climb the Great Wall!