Cinematic choices are hard to predict but one can bet that many of us have been missing Akshaye Khanna. His dimpled chin, square jaw, half smile and intelligent screen presence made him a contender for the top league. Over the years, he did give us plenty of Dil Chahta Hai moments but somehow failed to make Hulchul at the box office consistently enough. “I have no regrets; you have complaints,” avers Akshaye, who returned to turnstiles last year after a gap of four years.
“I had some personal issues. I could not work for couple of years. And once you are out of the circuit, it takes time to get the momentum back,” reasons Akshaye, who is playing a police office in Sridevi-starrer Mom and is giving finishing touches to the remake of Ittefaq.
As one slips in the usual query about his potential not being utilised, Akshaye interrupts, “Look, this is not my space to comment. It is for the media or audience to comment on whether I am under utilised or sufficiently utilised. When I started, I was very young. Today, I am 42. I still have age on my side. I need not worry. I don’t have to be a Shah Rukh Khan to consider myself successful. Everybody doesn’t have to become a JRD Tata to be recognised as a successful businessman. But in the media and in our industry there is this perception.”
Unlike Shah Rukh, he didn’t work towards establishing a romantic hero image. “It doesn’t mean anything. Audience, today, has reacted to a talent like Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In a span of six-seven years, you see, the kind of respect this man has got as a performer because the audience is appreciating his work. Acting is an art form and one should pick roles according to one’s instincts and conviction.” Talking about experimenting with different genres with films like Hungama and Gandhi, My Father, Akshaye says most actors do it. “Aamir opted for Taare Zameen Par and Shah Rukh did Paheli. The problem is we have only one metre of measuring success and that is box office. I am not talking about myself but there have been instances when a film didn’t work at the box office but over years it found audience on television and internet and was considered popular.”
Coming to Mom, Akshaye says, “Like any actor, I want to associate myself with good cinema and this film has given me an opportunity. Its subject has universal appeal and it is a film which is massy without losing out on the nuances. It is a director’s job to strike this balance.” And he gives director Ravi Udyawar credit for arriving at this rare blend. “One day while we were talking on the sets, Sridevi said, ‘Akshaye, this Ravi is my best director. If I say this it is not a big deal, but coming from somebody who has worked with some of the top names in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu film industries, is something. It is a kind of film which you won’t be able to forget easily.”
Refined tastes
He admits that as audiences are getting exposed to different forms of cinema, their tastes are getting refined. “I learnt on the job. I learnt the ABC of acting while shooting. Today, you don’t get this kind of grace period from the audience and the industry. In those days, people used to say, seekh jayega . Not any more. You have to be fully prepared before the launch. This is one massive change that I have noticed.”
He gives credit to his directors for making him a better actor. “Filmmaking is a collaborative process, an orchestra where the director is the conductor. My job is to understand the demand of the conductor.” Once it was Subhash Ghai, today it is Ravi. “Exactly!” Is there a process to it? “I don’t intellectualise acting. I go in front of the camera and do what the director wants me to express.” We were also missing such modesty. Isn’t it?
