<p>He’s on a roll, as always — come hit, or flop. With his co-production last year, OMG — Oh My God!, and this year’s Special 26 getting critical acclaim, last year’s Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore crossing the 100 crore benchmark and his other co-production Khiladi 786 making decent money, Akshay Kumar has no reason to fret.<br /><br /></p>.<p>What’s more — his Marathi co-production 72 Miles has won hosannas at home and abroad and he is now co-producing his first film in his mother tongue, the Punjabi Bhaji In Problem, in which he will make an extended cameo appearance.<br /><br />“Nowadays, every Friday, the boss of the box-office changes!” he tells you with a smile and a mix of satire and philosophy. “When a film releases on Friday, you come to know its fate by Saturday. Speaking for myself, I feel bad on Sunday, but on Monday I move on, forgetting the flop and looking ahead.”<br /><br />Any references to Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara, his last release, are politely generalised in this statement.<br /><br />Confident ventures<br /><br />Having said that, Akshay is confident about his latest co-production Boss, which, he tells you, falls in the genre of an emotional father-son drama. “This is a genre for which I have a soft corner, because I was very close to my father. I am lucky that in my career I got to do some more such stories like Jaanwar, Ek Rishta and Waqt — The Race Against Time apart from co-producing Namastey London and Patiala House.<br /><br /> In this film, my father, played by Mithun (Chakraborty)-da, misunderstands me and only realises my worth when he and my brother, played by Shiv Pandit, land in trouble.”<br /><br />The father, he says, is a much-neglected entity in cinema as he is in real life. “Look at the dozens of songs on Maa. I have therefore included a song here that goes Pitah se hi naam tera (Your name and fame are inherited from your father).”<br /><br />Akshay says that Mithun, (who has co-starred with him in both his co-productions last year as well as in other films, including the forthcoming Gabbar) is like family to him. Shiv Pandit, who plays his younger brother, is being mentored by the superstar.<br /><br /><br />“We all need support when we start out,” Akshay explains. “Today, my mentor, the late filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty, is no more, but I cannot forget the man who had worked with the biggest names like Dharmendra, and still did not consider me too small for his films, which is why I am here today. He launched me in Deedaar in 1992.”<br /><br />If Boss is more about father-son relationships, why is the trailer highlighting only action? “Well, why should I reveal all my cards? The film is an action comedy on the surface, and whatever we are saying is said in an entertaining way. It’s a remake of the Southern hit Pokkiri Raja, which is why I do not have a heroine opposite me like in the original, so that answers a question you might ask — why I do not have a romantic co-star in Boss.”<br /><br />Clearly, Akshay is in upbeat mood and so we dare ask him about the song re-creations in his films. Is it just a coincidence that all his re-creations — ‘Apni to jaise taise’ in Housefull, ‘Pyar do pyar lo’ in Thank You and ‘Har kisiko nahin milta’ from Boss — are originally composed by Kalyanji-Anandji? Or, is he a closet fan of the composer duo?<br /><br />Akshay seems a bit fogged as he answers, “I didn’t even know that. It’s just that they were great songs that fitted my films.”<br /><br />Two more artistes need discussion, we say: Danny Denzongpa and Ronit Roy, the latter the main antagonist in the film with whom Akshay has a six-minute hand-to-hand fight in the climax.<br /><br />“Dannyji is such a gem of a human being,” says Akshay. “And look at him — even today, after over 40 years in the field, he looks just 25. He has always worked on his own terms — for eight months a year. He learns the flute, goes on treks. I would love to have a life like him, as he is totally in control of what he wants.”<br /><br />He adds with a sudden recall, “Besides, Dannyji has been lucky for me — I remember that I bought my first office from him.”<br /><br />About Ronit, what Akshay admires is his greed for fitness. “He was therefore the obvious choice. And yes, we have brought back the hand-to-hand fight between hero and villain. Frankly, the cables used in all the incredible stunts today, with men flying 150 feet away, looks contrived and is going out of fashion. The hand-to-hand combats look raw, real and manly.”<br /><br />Once bitten, twice...<br /><br />Finally, the director of Boss, Anthony D’Souza, has been responsible for one of Akshay’s greatest calamities to date, the film Blue. What made him depend on the director again? “Let me tell you that Anthony is an exceptional technician. What Blue lacked was a good script. And who does not have flops?” is his response.<br /><br />How would Akshay rate his family’s role in his success?<br /><br />“I would give them 100 per cent credit, whether it is my wife and kids, or my sister and parents. Your family always stands by you. For Aarav, I am his superman like all dads are. He watches and loves all my films, though he prefers Tom And Jerry more.”<br />Is Aarav likely to follow in his father’s footsteps? “Only to the extent that he is already learning Martial Arts,” answers the proud father.<br /><br />We want to know from the star which way does he think trends are going today in Hindi films, and he says candidly, “People now go for scripts more than just stars. That’s being proved again and again. I think it is good that the audience is finally realising that the script is what makes a film.”<br /><br />Why then does he not do more films like OMG — Oh My God! and Special 26 that have popular appeal and extraordinary scripts? “Because I don’t get them!” he says with a smile. “I produce films under two banners — the Grazing Goat Pictures banner is for films like OMG – Oh My God! and 72 Miles that will make a difference to society.<br /><br /> Hari Om Productions, named after my father, is for entertaining films. I am now co-producing Gabbar under the latter banner, a remake of a Murugadoss film.”<br /><br />What else is lined up? “My next release will be Murugadoss’ s next, Holiday, which was earlier called Pistol, because that’s the actual meaning of Thuppaki, the movie on which it is based,” he replies. “I am also doing It’s Entertainment, being produced by Tips.”</p>
<p>He’s on a roll, as always — come hit, or flop. With his co-production last year, OMG — Oh My God!, and this year’s Special 26 getting critical acclaim, last year’s Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore crossing the 100 crore benchmark and his other co-production Khiladi 786 making decent money, Akshay Kumar has no reason to fret.<br /><br /></p>.<p>What’s more — his Marathi co-production 72 Miles has won hosannas at home and abroad and he is now co-producing his first film in his mother tongue, the Punjabi Bhaji In Problem, in which he will make an extended cameo appearance.<br /><br />“Nowadays, every Friday, the boss of the box-office changes!” he tells you with a smile and a mix of satire and philosophy. “When a film releases on Friday, you come to know its fate by Saturday. Speaking for myself, I feel bad on Sunday, but on Monday I move on, forgetting the flop and looking ahead.”<br /><br />Any references to Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara, his last release, are politely generalised in this statement.<br /><br />Confident ventures<br /><br />Having said that, Akshay is confident about his latest co-production Boss, which, he tells you, falls in the genre of an emotional father-son drama. “This is a genre for which I have a soft corner, because I was very close to my father. I am lucky that in my career I got to do some more such stories like Jaanwar, Ek Rishta and Waqt — The Race Against Time apart from co-producing Namastey London and Patiala House.<br /><br /> In this film, my father, played by Mithun (Chakraborty)-da, misunderstands me and only realises my worth when he and my brother, played by Shiv Pandit, land in trouble.”<br /><br />The father, he says, is a much-neglected entity in cinema as he is in real life. “Look at the dozens of songs on Maa. I have therefore included a song here that goes Pitah se hi naam tera (Your name and fame are inherited from your father).”<br /><br />Akshay says that Mithun, (who has co-starred with him in both his co-productions last year as well as in other films, including the forthcoming Gabbar) is like family to him. Shiv Pandit, who plays his younger brother, is being mentored by the superstar.<br /><br /><br />“We all need support when we start out,” Akshay explains. “Today, my mentor, the late filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty, is no more, but I cannot forget the man who had worked with the biggest names like Dharmendra, and still did not consider me too small for his films, which is why I am here today. He launched me in Deedaar in 1992.”<br /><br />If Boss is more about father-son relationships, why is the trailer highlighting only action? “Well, why should I reveal all my cards? The film is an action comedy on the surface, and whatever we are saying is said in an entertaining way. It’s a remake of the Southern hit Pokkiri Raja, which is why I do not have a heroine opposite me like in the original, so that answers a question you might ask — why I do not have a romantic co-star in Boss.”<br /><br />Clearly, Akshay is in upbeat mood and so we dare ask him about the song re-creations in his films. Is it just a coincidence that all his re-creations — ‘Apni to jaise taise’ in Housefull, ‘Pyar do pyar lo’ in Thank You and ‘Har kisiko nahin milta’ from Boss — are originally composed by Kalyanji-Anandji? Or, is he a closet fan of the composer duo?<br /><br />Akshay seems a bit fogged as he answers, “I didn’t even know that. It’s just that they were great songs that fitted my films.”<br /><br />Two more artistes need discussion, we say: Danny Denzongpa and Ronit Roy, the latter the main antagonist in the film with whom Akshay has a six-minute hand-to-hand fight in the climax.<br /><br />“Dannyji is such a gem of a human being,” says Akshay. “And look at him — even today, after over 40 years in the field, he looks just 25. He has always worked on his own terms — for eight months a year. He learns the flute, goes on treks. I would love to have a life like him, as he is totally in control of what he wants.”<br /><br />He adds with a sudden recall, “Besides, Dannyji has been lucky for me — I remember that I bought my first office from him.”<br /><br />About Ronit, what Akshay admires is his greed for fitness. “He was therefore the obvious choice. And yes, we have brought back the hand-to-hand fight between hero and villain. Frankly, the cables used in all the incredible stunts today, with men flying 150 feet away, looks contrived and is going out of fashion. The hand-to-hand combats look raw, real and manly.”<br /><br />Once bitten, twice...<br /><br />Finally, the director of Boss, Anthony D’Souza, has been responsible for one of Akshay’s greatest calamities to date, the film Blue. What made him depend on the director again? “Let me tell you that Anthony is an exceptional technician. What Blue lacked was a good script. And who does not have flops?” is his response.<br /><br />How would Akshay rate his family’s role in his success?<br /><br />“I would give them 100 per cent credit, whether it is my wife and kids, or my sister and parents. Your family always stands by you. For Aarav, I am his superman like all dads are. He watches and loves all my films, though he prefers Tom And Jerry more.”<br />Is Aarav likely to follow in his father’s footsteps? “Only to the extent that he is already learning Martial Arts,” answers the proud father.<br /><br />We want to know from the star which way does he think trends are going today in Hindi films, and he says candidly, “People now go for scripts more than just stars. That’s being proved again and again. I think it is good that the audience is finally realising that the script is what makes a film.”<br /><br />Why then does he not do more films like OMG — Oh My God! and Special 26 that have popular appeal and extraordinary scripts? “Because I don’t get them!” he says with a smile. “I produce films under two banners — the Grazing Goat Pictures banner is for films like OMG – Oh My God! and 72 Miles that will make a difference to society.<br /><br /> Hari Om Productions, named after my father, is for entertaining films. I am now co-producing Gabbar under the latter banner, a remake of a Murugadoss film.”<br /><br />What else is lined up? “My next release will be Murugadoss’ s next, Holiday, which was earlier called Pistol, because that’s the actual meaning of Thuppaki, the movie on which it is based,” he replies. “I am also doing It’s Entertainment, being produced by Tips.”</p>
