After the debacle of his last few films Khatta Meetha and Action Replayy, Akshay Kumar is looking forward to his next release, Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan, which is already the talk of the town thanks to the super hit item song, Sheila ki Jawani.
According to him, success and flops don’t matter that much anymore and it is the appreciation that keeps him going. “I gave my best shot in every film but the films did not work. It is the audience that finally decides. I put in the same kind of effort in all my films hoping that they will do well. I have to look ahead and do my best in my next film,” says Akshay.
Looking back at his long innings in the industry he says, “I have worked hard to reach where I am today. Of course, hits and misses do leave an impression on the mind, but I don’t mull over it. Who doesn’t want his film to be a hit? I have gone through my ups and downs. Even today I remember my debut film Saugandh when I was new to the industry. No one knew me. I was not an industry child. A lot of seniors had left an impression on my mind and Amitabh Bachchan was one of them. He had come on the sets of Saugandh and had walked past me. But he came back, met me and said he had heard about me and wished me all the best. He was so humble and still is, despite being at the top. That humility left an impression on my mind and I try to emulate that. I try to find happiness with people around me and my family,” adds Kumar.
In Tees Maar Khan he is once again paired opposite his lucky mascot Katrina Kaif and only time will tell if the film is a hit or a flop. Akshay, however, is leaving no stone unturned in promoting the film. “We have given many hits together. Katrina is a beautiful and hardworking girl who knew nothing about this industry when she came here from London. It was sheer hard work that has got her where she is today. I enjoy working with her. She is thoroughly professional and gives 100 per cent to her roles and that’s why every director wants to work with her.”
This will also be his second film with a woman director, the first being Tanuja Chandra, with whom he did Sangharsh. “They are both women of different sensibilities. Farah is a hardcore commercial director like her brother Sajid Khan. They are fun to work with and have given hits. They come from the same school of filmmaking. In fact, Farah and designer Aki Narula have designed my look in the film. It’s fun to watch her at work. Men would be scared of her on the sets when she would scream at them,” says Akshay, adding, “I have known her for a long time as a choreographer so have always been comfortable with her. I love her as a director. I think she should make many more films.”
About his character Tabrez Ali Khan in the film, he explains that he is half a Robin Hood as he steals from the rich but does not give to the poor! “He’s jovial and it’s a fun role, which I haven’t done for a long time. He fools people but there is no negativity in him. He is very intelligent and uses every trick to fool people. He is arrested in Paris but he escapes from the plane,” says Akshay.
While he would like to try out different genres, Akshay says that unfortunately he is stuck with comedy. “I want to do different kinds of films. I experimented with films like Sangharsh and Tasveer 8x10 but they didn’t work for me. I put in a lot of hard work hoping that I could give the audience something different. I have been doing a lot of comedy and action films all along but at times I need to change and do something out of the box. I love to experiment but who watches such kind of films? At the end of the day, I am a producer and I have to understand business also. I can’t do films to satisfy myself. I have to entertain as I am called an entertainer,” he states.
He is looking forward to 2011. “My films have not done well this year but I hope to begin the new year on a good note. I am doing Shirish’s Joker, and am looking forward to doing some hardcore action next year. I am also looking forward to spending a lot of time with my near and dear ones,” he concludes.