Wamiqa Gabbi and Akshay Kumar may be busy selling scares and laughs for Bhooth Bangla, but their most viral moment this week came miles above the ground. Mid-flight, the co-stars turned a quiet travel stretch into a playful arm-wrestling bout, and Gabbi ended up “winning” in a way that had fans laughing almost as much as the duo did.
The moment landed online on March 16, 2026, with Gabbi sharing a video on Instagram that captured the two actors locked in a friendly strength test while travelling. Kumar initially looked firmly in control as the match began, leaning in with the confident ease that fits his long-running “Khiladi” image. Then came the twist that made the clip instantly meme-able: a lipstick was placed on the table between them, and the stakes suddenly felt very personal to Gabbi.
The Lipstick Twist And Akshay Kumar’s Cheeky Response
In her caption, Gabbi framed the match as pre-release “Khiladi energy” ahead of the film’s theatrical date, and added the detail that changed the entire context of the bout: “Just some KHILADI energy before entering the Bhooth Bangla on 10th April. (BTW, that was the only lipstick I was carrying, it was an important lipstick).”
The clip ends with Gabbi pushing through and winning the match, then clutching the lipstick with visible relief. Kumar played along in the comments with a line that sealed the joke. “Lesson learnt: never come between a girl and her lipstick. Even a Khiladi will lose that fight,” he wrote.
The exchange has also doubled up as a breezy, in-character tease for Bhooth Bangla, which is being positioned as a horror-comedy that leans into chaotic, ensemble-driven humour.
Bhooth Bangla is directed by Priyadarshan and is slated to release in theatres on April 10, 2026. Along with Akshay Kumar and Wamiqa Gabbi, the film features Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani. It is backed by Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Cape of Good Films, with Akshay Kumar, Ektaa R Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor attached as producers.
Wamiqa Gabbi’s Recent And Upcoming Work
Over the last few years, Gabbi has steadily built a strong screen presence across film and streaming. She appeared in Vishal Bhardwaj’s espionage thriller Khufiya (2023) on Netflix, followed by a breakout run in the period series Jubilee (2023) on Prime Video. She then headlined the mystery series Charlie Chopra and The Mystery of Solang Valley (2023) on SonyLIV.
Next, the actor moves to a theatrical stage opposite Akshay Kumar with Bhooth Bangla, as she continues to balance mainstream Hindi films with author-backed streaming projects.
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