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The SRK-Akki rivalry

Recently, when the two actors were present at Preity Zinta's birthday party they avoided each other like the plague. Their behaviour came as a surprise to all since SRK and Akshay were known to be good friends. In 2007, Akshay had done a guest appearance in Shah Rukh's Om Shanti Om while Shah Rukh had done an item number in Akshay's Heyy Babyy.

A source from the party reveals, "Akshay and Twinkle made a quick exit soon after Shah Rukh and wife Gauri arrived. The two did not even acknowledge each other in the little time they spent under the same roof.” This was enough to set the industry tongues wagging.

The reason for this sudden animosity is rumoured to be Akshay's rise at the box office and the fact that he has been conferred with the Padma Shree. A close friend of Akshay’s reveals, "Shah Rukh has been grumbling about how Akshay doesn't deserve the Padma Shree because his body of work is nothing but mindless comedies." But industry sources claim that the Akshay-SRK war has been brewing since Akshay's Namastey London became a huge hit in the international market and garnered more collections than Shah Rukh's Chak De India.

A trade source explains, "After Namastey London, Akshay's Singh Is Kinng became a block-buster worldwide. Furthermore Akshay's Fear Factor on TV was a huge success while Shah Rukh's quiz show failed miserably. But what proved to be the final nail was Akshay calling himself the 'King of Bollywood.' Now it was Shah Rukh who was always referred to as King Khan. This upset Shah Rukh all the more."

The source further adds that when Akshay refused to accept a popular actor award recently and dedicated it to Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh felt insulted. After all Rab Ne bana Di Jodi and Gajjini had released around the same time.

Shah Rukh had recently remarked, "He (Akshay) can be the king but there will only be one Badshah and that's me!" While we are all for healthy competition, this one seems to be more of a mudslinging match.