(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) In an interview with City Times Akshay Kumar talks about coming back to where he belongs - the action genre - with his forthcoming release Baby and the experience of shooting in Abu Dhabi
Once upon a time Akshay Kumar was known as one of the most bankable stars of Bollywood. His success rate made him a safe bet for production houses and they were willing to shell out huge amounts of money to get him into their projects. After a string of failures and successes Akshay is concentrating on doing a variety of projects. Sometimes he realises that he has not done enough South Indian action remakes of trashy movies so he keeps doing them more at the same time he invests his money in strong subjects like OMG - Oh My God The Shaukeens Baby etc. Baby sees Akshay Kumar reunited with director Neeraj Pandey who teamed up on the critically acclaimed film Special 26. Akshay plays a Special Forces officer who would do whatever is necessary to keep his country safe. The film releases in the UAE on Thursday January 22.
You are coming together with Neeraj Pandey after Special Chabbis what kind of creative rapport do you share with him
Neeraj Pandey is one of the most complex directors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Way back when I first shot with this extraordinary quiet man I felt very intimidated by him. Yet he had absolutely no idea about the excitement and nerves I was feeling on my first day working with him for Special 26. I could follow this man till the end of the earth just listening to his take on life and the way he sees things his vision his honesty to shoot original sequences as he refuses to copy anything already made. When I knew he was on board I knew I had to get involved in the project! It’s been great working with Neeraj again we’ve got this crazy chemistry and I’ve got such respect for him.
How involved were you in the scripting and the research stage of this film
For a role as specialised as this I had to train both physically and mentally. When I was doing my research I learned a lot about the Counter Intelligence Unit and how they operate. There were a lot of other preparations as well that I had to make for Baby. Physically it was a very demanding film and so I upped my game in the gym. I do like to keep my body guessing so I love trying out new techniques and exercises.
The most recent discovery I made is these heavy wooden beads I bought in Singapore. I have 50 beads which weigh about 2-3 kilos. The aim is to move them around your neck which seriously works your core. If you do it wrong the beads will drop. It works your cardio so when you finish it tones you up from the inside out.
How was shooting in Abu Dhabi
Baby is not my first time filming in Abu Dhabi as I have earlier filmed scenes for other movies there. It’s always nice shooting there. It was 50 something degrees while we were out there so we just had to get it done as quickly as possible which wasn’t easy. In fact I’ll be returning to film another project called Airlift in May 2015.
For this film we needed rough desert terrain and an Arabian airport hence Abu Dhabi fit in perfectly plus you just can’t shoot like this in Mumbai. They won’t close a part of the street for you – they’d rather close the shoot.
Would you be happy if your children became police officers
ENDURING LOVE
Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna had a hush-hush wedding but 14 years on their marriage remains rock solid. The couple gives a lot of credit of their successful marriage to their common love for laughter and a sense of humour. Post their wedding Twinkle Khanna quit acting became an entrepreneur and recently started writing a popular column.
Recently on their marriage anniversary Akshay Kumar posted a picture of him and his wife and captioned it as “After 14 years of listening to the same old jokes of mrsfunnybones I still wait to hear more ! #happyanniversary(sic).”
Twinkle Khanna tweeted “ What did ur husband give u on ur anniversary Lent me his sense of humour some balance&strong support #bestgiftever(sic).” No wonder Akshay described his wife as ‘superwoman’ while talking to us.
If they did I’d be worried non-stop about them but deep down I’d be so proud. Serving your country and protecting it there’s no better honour. The police and soldiers are the true heroes of India. Having said that as long as they were happy in their job I’d support them.
Baby seems to be a complete action caper is it always fun to go back to your roots of doing action movies
I believe any actor should be versatile enough and work through different genres. I try my best to do this only for my fans. It’s important to multi-task in your roles. Each film has a different destiny and each film is treated differently. I walk onto the set each day with a clear idea on who I’m going to play and how. It’s the most interesting part about my job. I don’t have to go to work and just be me I get to play many of my alter-egos. It’s enough to keep you on your toes and your fans in the palm of your hands. The minute you take that for granted you’ve lost them…
Where do you find the time to star in three-four films a year
A lot of it goes down to hard work and organisation. I only spent 32 days on the set of Baby and the whole film was filmed in about 50 or so days. That’s because Neeraj has his script in place. I know I’m doing four films a year while others are doing one per year sometimes one in two years. But I do these films very easily with a lot of free time in hand. In fact I’m the only actor who takes so many holidays. I take at least eight days off every three months and a month-and-a-half long vacation every year. So if I have time what else do I do
Your wife Twinkle’s column is extremely popular and widely read. Do you enjoy reading her work And who do you think is funnier amongst you two
Of course she’s my wife. She calls me man of the house in her column but she is my superwoman.
What are your thoughts on some of the comedy films you’ve done in recent times
To make people laugh is the greatest gift on earth. I make damn sure I make commercial cinema for the people that work all week and just want a break in life by the weekend and give them a good giggle before they go back to normality.
What are the kinds of work that you aspire to do in the coming days
I have loads of projects coming up! Gabbar Brothers just to name a few. It’s going to be a busy year!
Will you ever direct a film
I don’t know. Whatever the future may bring I will take it with an open heart and mind.
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