It has been 30 years since Akshay Kumar entered Bollywood, and to say his journey has been eventful would be an understatement. From outsider and struggler to National Award-winning superstar has been a long road, and Akshay says entering the industry is easier than maintaining one’s position and coping up with everything.
The 53-year-old actor continued: “A lot of times, I have seen how the movie that I know is not good works. On the other hand there are times when I know the film is good, and yet it doesn’t work. God has his own way of working and rewarding you. Jahaan dena hai wahaan kabhi kabhi nahi deta aur jahaan nahi dena wahaan de deta hai.”
Akshay walked into the industry with ‘Saugandh’ in 1991, but it was the action-packed thrills and punches of ‘Khiladi’ (1992) that gave him the ticket to mainstream entertainment. There was a time when Bollywood’s Khiladi Kumar got stuck in the action hero image, but he soon managed to break away from the stereotype with punches of another kind — comedy. At that time, he also explored rom-com space.
He went on to feature in comedy hits such as ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Garam Masala’, ‘BhagamBhag’, ‘HeyyBabyy’, ‘Welcome’, ‘Singh Is Kinng’ and ‘Housefull’. There were many misses, too, in the genre, like ‘Tees Maar Khan’, ‘Thank You’ and ‘Joker’.
Today, Akshay has developed a reputation of backing stories that have hues of patriotism and nationalism, besides films with socially-relevant content. “I do films that are responsible and also the films that are commercial. I am not a teacher,” Akshay said, on his way of picking projects. “I do films I like, and the messages I like. Sometimes there is a message, and something there is no message. I do different types of films and I want to continue doing them in the future,” he continued. “I don’t want to be a teacher,” the superstar asserted, adding: “I get associated with the message I believe in. I made a film on sanitary pads, and did one on the importance of toilets. (I) Also made one on science. I have made different types of films.” —Koimoi
