Nikhil Advani’s latest movie starring Akshay Kumar titled Chandni Chowk to China has been inspired by the life of the superstar himself, said the director.

“The film’s flavor comes from Akshay’s real life. He’s a boy from Chandni Chowk who went to Bangkok as a cook. My writer Sridhar Raghavan wrote the role with Akshay’s real-life story in mind. The character’s personality comes alive through Akshay. Thanks to him we finished ahead of schedule,” said Nikhil Advani.

In a surprising revelation, Advani also said “Chandni Chowk to China is a children’s film. I don’t think kids will try to attempt to climb the nearest wall to fight after watching the film. But I think we’ll have lots of kids joining karate classes.”, he said.

He attributed the martial arts scenes in the films to Akshay Kumar’s expertise. “Before I started making this film my interest in the martial arts was restricted to Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bruce Lee, and the Crouching Tigers of the world. But Akshay brought out the hidden dragon in me. He made me watch a lot of action scenes,” he said. “Before we left for China he’d make me sit down every morning and make me watch one Kung Fu film and explain the subtexts. By the time we left to shoot, I understood the martial arts much better.”

Apparently the team shot for 95 days in China of which 89 days were in Shanghai and interiors of China. They also shot extensively in the Great Wall of China.

Though trade pundits pushed for a Diwali date for the movie, Nikhil Advani is in no hurry. “We’ve shot it exactly the way we want. I don’t want to rush the release. Akshay’s superstardom isn’t going away anywhere, “ he quipped.