JOIN USAkshay Kumar, the bowler
We've heard of actors carrying their roles home. But Akshay Kumar would be the first actor to take his part in Patiala House to the playing field. Getting trained as a bowler, Akshay says he is now almost as good as a national-level player. “I'm working towards it. Practising my cricket gives me the biggest high,” Akshay said.
Akshay is rapidly becoming an expert bowler. “I am not yet good enough to play national-level cricket but I am getting there. I've been taking bowling lessons for Patiala House from one of the best trainers. I’m very sporty by nature. So it was quite easy for me to pick it up,” Akshay informed.
“Every morning I look forward to practising with Balwinder Singh Sandhu,” he said. Akshay trains in cricket for a couple of hours every day.
Directed by Nikhil Advani, Patiala House also stars Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Anushka Sharma. Akshay reveals he has already worked with 52 directors and is still looking for film-makers who can tap the best out of him. “I'm still hungry. I want to work with directors who can help me tap emotions that I don't know about," the actor said. Introspecting on his career, Akshay said, “I'm very happy with the kind of work I'm doing. I tried doing more serious films. But they were rejected. So I am back to comedy. Nikhil Advani's Patiala House is not a comedy. But it has comic portions. Priyadarshan's Khatta Meetha is a film on road mafia done in a light vein. That apart, I'm not signing any more films. I've been working the whole year and I need a break. Then I'll be doing another film with Vipul Shah.”
So how was it like playing a loser in laugh riot Housefull? “I enjoyed playing a loser more than any macho role I usually play. See, all us men are duffers underneath the swagger anyway. We may act cool for the ladies. But that's all an act. If you take away my wife, my designer clothes and my flashy car, I'm just a scared little boy at heart. Without the support system we're losers,” Akshay said candidly.
In Housefull, he also got to pay homage to Mithun Chakraborty and Dharmendra. Director Sajid Khan's sister Farah was doing the choreography. I suggested we put in the pelvic movements of Mithunda and the extempore dance movements of Dharamji. It was my life-long ambition to dance like these two legends,” the actor said.
So what about full-on actioners like the Khiladi series? “I might do another Khiladi film. Who knows about the future? I had said I'd never produce a film. Today, I'm co-producing all my films, including Farah's Tees Maar Khan," Akshay said.