Akshay Kumar never fails to surprise us. From absolute masala films like Rowdy Rathore and Housefull to more serious stuff like Baby and Airlift, the star is equally at ease when it comes to experimenting with his choices. He talks to The Quint on his upcoming film and more.
Q. Lately, you’ve been doing masala films as well as serious films like Baby and now Airlift, is that a conscious decision?
Akshay: I deliberately try to get in both the spaces, the commercial masala films and the films which are more real. So I balance myself. Masala films are more like my comfort zone, I challenge myself and get into the other zone.
Like after Airlift I am doing Housefull, actually I have just finished shooting Housefull 3. That is more like an easy going film. Me, Riteish, Abhishek have been laughing away throughout, the jokes that we crack and laugh on, we are bringing those in the film. In a film like Airlift you don’t do that. You have to go according to the real incident, the space and you have to follow a screenplay line. So it’s fun to do both kinds of cinema.
Q. The evacuation that happened, the Indian government at that time had kept it under wraps, so how did you guys manage to get all the details and facts?
Akshay: See, they kept it under wrap for political reasons.
Nimrat: Another thing was Iraq’s relationship with India at that time was very good. One, it was an anti-Iraq story, for it to come out in the press. It was because of Iraq that the Indians there were in that situation, so it did not benefit anyone for that news to become as big as it would have become in today’s times.
Akshay: I think my director knows a lot of people who were stuck. My director is a south Indian. There were a lot of south Indians who were stuck there.
Nimrat: Including his uncle...
Akshay: Yeah, his uncle was also stuck there, so he knew a lot of facts. But hats off to the Indian Government to keep it under wraps and there was only one article for such a big thing. This incident was in Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest evacuation any country has ever done. Now it is in the open because of Airlift.
Q. Last year your film Baby released and garnered a lot of critical appreciation, but sadly it has got ignored at the award functions. Anupam Kher was quite vocal about his disappointment. What do you have to say?
Akshay: Awards? (Laughs) It’s alright. Many a times in the past when I have been asked to give away an award, I have not bothered to even open the card. I just check who is sitting on the front row and that’s it I know this award will go to him only. I can announce the name without even opening the card. It’s a guess game. Actually not even a guess game!
Q. You are a star in Bollywood and now all set to make a debut in Tamil films as a villain in Robot 2. Are you excited about it?
Akshay: I am very glad that I am the first (male) actor to go and do a Tamil film. I am very happy. And I am grateful to them to get me and put me there, which other male actor has gone there? You don’t get it (the roles). Down south they take our heroines but, I am happy that I am doing it. I would love to break this myth and do a south Indian film. I have done a Marathi film, a Punjabi film, I would love to do a Guajarati film, Bihari and Bengali film. I liked the story of Robot 2. So yeah, I’ll start shooting for it in a month.
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