Akshay Kumar's 'Bell Bottom' became the first mainstream movie to have a theatrical release since the pandemic put theatres out of business. Since Maharashtra is still under lockdown, the premire of the film took place in Surat. Akshay was asked whether they "missed the boat" by not releasing the film in Maharashtra and the actor gave a witty reply.

Akshay said, "We’ve not missed the boat; we’ve started it. The engine was rusted for months now, and we’ve started it with Bell Bottom. Vashu Bhagnani and the team opened the rusted boat, oiled it and have started it. There might be a small loss in it, but it’s not about money; it’s about starting things. We’ve opted for this, and I’ll salute the whole team of Pooja Entertainment to do that.”

Further talking about the balance between OTT and cinema halls, Akshay said, "Everything needs to be balanced. Be it OTT, cinema halls, satellite, and there should be everything balanced in life. When everything was closed, I released Laxmii on OTT. Now that we’ve got the opportunity of 50% occupancy, we’re coming to the theatres. I just want to say maintain the balance according to how your life is proceeding. You’ll have to be practical to understand it, and you’ve to go along with it."