You know you are on the right floor in Film City, Goregaon, when you spot the golden retriever that’s now famous for giving Akshay Kumar a hard time, if you’ve seen the promos of his next release Entertainment . At the vanity van, Akshay Kumar gets straight to the point — he needs to leave in five minutes for a shoot. We end up chatting for thirty.
As someone introduces me, saying I am from The Hindu , he attempts a PJ: “ Kal Eid hai, toh Muslim ayega .” Here are excerpts from our free-wheeling chat:
Entertainmentis named after the dog. Any similarities between dogs and entertainment? Or is the dog a metaphor?
Actually, dogs, animals, pets… they do bring entertainment to everybody’s lives. I have had three dogs; they have been entertaining me for so long. They have unconditional love for you, they look after you, their mood depends on yours… They are loyal and always there for you. My father in the film named him Entertainment because he always entertained him.”
Why do you think critics and general audiences respond very differently to your brand of entertainment?
I don’t think so. Holiday was taken well by critics also.
Women seem to be shown regressively in many of your films, as objects of the hero’s affection…
Objects? I don’t agree. On the contrary, I read in the paper that four of the ten best villains last year were women. We have films like Mardaani, Mary Kom coming up…
I meant in your films.
Which films?
Holiday, Rowdy Rathore… The hero follows the girl, his fingers can’t control pinching her stomach…
It’s okay if you pinch your wife or girlfriend. It’s never the women who will make the move. Unke paas lajjo, sharm, haya (they are shy). The men have to do it. Some 80-85 per cent of the time, it’s like that.
But you’re supposed to be a role model for the youth. Stalkers and sexual predators would say Akshay Kumar does it…
Bewakoofi hai na yeh (It’s stupidity). Then you can’t show villains or English films. When people get caught, they just blame films. Hum jo maa baap ka dhyaan rakthey hai picture main, woh toh koi nahin karta . (We also take care of parents in the films, but nobody follows that!)
You have done quite a bit of these mainstream films and also the occasional Oh My God and Special 26 … what do you find more satisfying personally?
I find jumping all the time satisfying. I don’t want to have just one kind of image; I want to keep stepping out of my comfort zone.
By comfort zone, you mean your Khiladi films.
Yes, that’s my comfort zone. I wouldn’t call Holiday or Gabbar (the upcoming remake of Ramana ) my comfort zone.
You are known to play safe.
I like to play it safe for my producers , jo ghar ke zevraat lagatey hai (who pawn their jewels). But it’s not like I don’t take risks. I’ve taken a number of risks. Like I would take a cut in the film; once a movie releases, if it earns, we will both make money. So, at least, there is no burden of my fee on the producer.
You’ve been around for 24 years, held your own against the Khans... What do you consider your biggest triumph?
Nothing in particular. I will not lie to you that something sentimental happened and narrate some dukh bhari kahaani (sad story). Every day is a normal day. You learn something, you lose something, or gain something.
Have you ever thought “This is why it’s worth being an actor”?
Right from the first day I started in this industry, I told myself it’s worth being an actor because I had just got my pay cheque.
Do you read reviews?
No, I just see the stars. The only critics I respect are the ones who never go for a film during a film trial. They should pay Rs. 300, and sit with the audience and feel the vibe, hear the magic, listen to them and then write. I’ve seen critics sit alone and watch films at special previews.
So you mean to say that critics need to have their hand on the pulse of the audience.
When you go to a doctor, he keeps his hand on your pulse, examines you on the basis of his expertise and experience and then takes a decision. Do critics know how a film is made, how much a spot boy is paid, what a spherical lens is? I can understand tomorrow if Aditya Chopra or someone who has done work in films reviews films. Most of the time, they catch hold of college kids and say: Here’s 300 bucks, go see the film, and write what you want.
If you want to write about a building, you need to know what real estate is. You can’t look at a bad paint job and rubbish the structure and architecture because it could be solid from the inside.
Why don’t you understand that commercial cinema is commercial cinema and whatever stars you have to give, you have to give according to the pulse of commercial cinema.
So you have a problem with the competence and qualification of critics.
If Sachin or Dhoni don’t do well, who tells us what they are doing wrong? A Sunil Gavaskar tells us, Ravi Shastri tells us, Kapil Dev bolega … People who have done something. Humare yahaan ek Ramesh Tiwari (just saying) bol raha hai . Tu kaun hai, Ramesh Tiwari? Bete, tu ne kya kiya aaj tak cinema me? (Here, we have a random Ramesh Tiwari. Who are you, Ramesh Tiwari? Son, what have you ever done in cinema?)
