Nobody should be blamed but me: Akshay Kumar on dull performances of his films

Superstar Akshay Kumar on Saturday said he should be "blamed" for the poor run of his recent films at the box office.

Kumar, whose last few films such as Bachchan Pandey, Samrat Prithviraj and Raksha Bandhan registered dismal performances at the ticket window, said he needs to "dismantle" the way he chooses scripts.

"Films are not working, it is our fault, my fault. I have to make the changes, understand what the audience wants. I want to dismantle the way I think and what kind of films I should do. Nobody should be blamed for it but me," Kumar said at the trailer launch for his upcoming film Cuttputlli here.

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The movie, directed by Bell Bottom helmer Ranjit M Tewari, will be releasing on Disney+ Hotstar on September 2.

Kumar said going for a direct-to-digital release is not a "safety net" to protect movies from a possible box office failure.

"OTT is not a safe space. It also requires people to say 'we like the film' or 'we don't'. It's not a safety net. Here also the film releases, and the media, people, critics, all of them watch it. One has to work hard and that's it," he added.

Cuttputlli also stars Rakul Preet Singh, Sargun Mehta and Chandrachur Singh in pivotal roles.

Aseem Arrora, whose credits include Bell Bottom and Ek Villain Returns, has penned the screenplay and dialogues for the film, which is inspired by 2018 Tamil movie Ratsasan.

The story focuses on a cop (Kumar) investigating the string of murders of schoolgirls in the hill town of Kasauli.

Tewari said he had a great time directing a "fabulous script" like Cuttputlli.

"It's very compelling and engaging. It was difficult to follow the script during the pandemic. We started shooting during the second wave. At the end, it all came together and the entire team worked hard. It was a good journey," he said.

Kumar said he jumped at the opportunity of starring in the movie as serial killer dramas are a rarity in Bollywood.

"Not many people make movies on serial killers. It's a different kind of genre and I've also never done a thriller in my life where I have to catch a serial thriller. I started my career with a thriller Khiladi, but this is completely different from that also. The interesting part is it is not only about physicality, but also about the mind," he added.

The movie is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani and Deepshikha Deshmukh under their banner Pooja Entertainment.