Aiyaary: Not Akshay Kumar's PadMan, but THIS is the REAL reason behind delay of Sidharth Malhotra's movie

Sidharth Malhotra's upcoming movie Aiyaary, which was earlier slated to release on February 9, has once again been postponed. The movie will now hit the screens on February 16. Indeed, there have been speculations about this sudden postponement of the movie.

In fact, it was reported that the Aiyaary makers chose to postpone the movie to avoid the box office clash with Akshay Kumar's upcoming release PadMan which too is hitting the silver screen on February 9.

The media reports suggest that this box office clash might affect the earnings of Aiyaary and hence chose to push its release.

However, contrary to the reports, the makers have revealed that the release of Aiyaary was pushed owing to the censor board certification. The makers were awaiting clearance for CBFC and the Ministry of Defence.

Post review of the film by the CBFC, a special screening was held for the Ministry of Defence on last Saturday evening as instructed by the CBFC.

The screening resulted in prescribed modifications to the film, providing which 'Aiyaary' finally received its censor certification, an official statement said. Neeraj Pandey took to Twitter and posted a picture of the censor certificate.

"Finally... this just arrived. All cleared for #AiyaaryOnFeb16 now! Thank you #CBFCIndia. Thank you MOD. See you on Feb 16 in cinemas near you!".

Finally... this just arrived. All cleared for #AiyaaryOnFeb16 now! Thank you #CBFCIndia. Thank you MOD. See you on Feb 16 in cinemas near you! @S1dharthM @BajpayeeManoj @Rakulpreet @Pooja_Chopra_ @AnupamPkher @ShitalBhatiaFFW @RelianceEnt @aiyaary @adgpi @PenMovies @currentshah pic.twitter.com/TdHIFjQHJZ

— Neeraj Pandey (@neerajpofficial) February 6, 2018

In a formal announcement, the film's official handle tweeted, "Thank you #CBFCIndia! Thank you M. O. D! The final countdown for #AiyaaryOnFeb16 begins now! "

Thank you #CBFCIndia! Thank you M.O.D! The final countdown for #AiyaaryOnFeb16 begins now! @neerajpofficial @S1dharthM @BajpayeeManoj @Rakulpreet @Pooja_Chopra_ @AnupamPkher #NaseeruddinShah @ShitalBhatiaFFW @RelianceEnt @adgpi @currentshah @PenMovies pic.twitter.com/B1k3cPi6u8

— Aiyaary (@aiyaary) February 6, 2018

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who stars in the film, also took to Twitter and wrote, "That's a green light for #AiyaaryOnFeb16 with no more pit stops along the way! Thank you #CBFCIndia and MOD".

Apart from Manoj Bajpayee and Sidharth Malhotra as the mentor and protege, 'Aiyaary' also features Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Chopra in lead roles.