Akshay
Kumar
is
taking
lessons
in
ice
hockey
while
shooting
for
Anees
Bazmee's
film
Thank
You
in
Canada.
Every
opportunity
he
gets,
he
heads
to
the
nearest
skating
rink
and
practices
with
the
unit
members.
Incidentally,
the
actor
is
co-producing
Breakaway,
an
Indo-Canadian
joint
venture
on
ice
hockey
to
be
directed
by
Robert
Lieberman.
Shooting
of
the
film
begins
on
September
16
this
year
and
Akki
wants
to
master
it
before
that.
While
he
isn't
acting
in
the
film,
he
is
a
sports
fanatic
and
is
always
excited
about
playing
new
games.
In
the
winter,
he
goes
to
the
Nathan
Phillips
Square
ice
skating
rink
to
skate.
It's
summer
in
Canada
now
and
he
has
to
practice
at
an
indoor
skating
rink.
Khiladi
Kumar
is
quite
adept
at
ice
skating
but
is
new
to
ice
hockey.
Adds
a
source,
"Akshay
is
very
excited
about
Breakaway,
about
an
ice
hockey
player
(Vinay
Virmani)
who
hails
from
the
Indo-Canadian
community
and
the
struggles
he
faces
to
establish
himself.
Last
month,
when
they
met,
Canadian
PM
Stephen
Harper
told
him
that
he
loves
the
sport.
It
was
then
that
the
actor
decided
to
produce
a
film
on
ice
hockey."
Vinay
Virmani
is
offering
Akki
guidance
on
the
sport.
Ice
hockey
is
big
in
Canada,
almost
like
a
religion,
and
Kumar
wants
to
learn
to
play
it
soon.
While
shooting
hasn't
even
begun,
Akshay
Kumar
has
already
sold
distribution
rights
to
Canada's
biggest
distributor
Alliance
Films
at
a
whopping
price.
The
company
researched
Akshay's
background,
his
B-O
appeal,
star
status
and
track
record
as
a
producer
before
buying
the
rights.
Apparently,
Breakaway
will
have
a
release
in
all
major
USA
and
Canada
theaters
akin
to
a
Hollywood
film.
Story first published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 15:09 [IST]