People look at comedy as buffoonery: Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar is possibly the only actor in his league to churn out films at the rate that he does. He explains the rationale behind it. “The way I work benefits not just me, but also those around me. My make-up man tells me that he makes most money in the business simply because I work so much. If all the actors do just one or two films in a year, how will the industry thrive?”

Akshay, who also produces most of his films adds, “I make my films in a certain amount. Since I am the producer, whatever the fate of the film, I’m the one who makes money or loses it — it’s nobody else’s loss.”

Akshay is moving back to the comedy space with Singh is Bling and Housefull 3 after a few attempts at serious films. Comedy actors, Akshay believes, don’t get their due in our country. “For the past two-and-a-half years, I’ve been doing films with a message. Now, I’ve finally decided to do commercial films. There are very few people who can be the hero despite doing comedy. There was Amitabh Bachchan saab and Kishore Kumar saab — I just followed them. It’s tough to do comedy, but guys who do it don’t get their due. The genre is looked down upon. Unless you do romantic or tragic roles and unless you cry and scream on screen, you don’t get the best actor award. People look at comedy as buffoonery.”

Akshay’s last outing Brothers wasn’t a big success. He says, “Brothers was an average film, but it’s close to my heart. It had a fantastic fight scene. I would say I introduced something new (mixed martial arts) to the audience and I’m proud of it. I now have a mixed martial arts tournament in Surat which the Chief Minister of Gujarat will be attending. I want to take the tournament all over India.”

Lastly, talking about his family, he says, “Aarav, my son enjoys nothing more than drawing at this point. About Twinkle, I am glad her book is doing so well and that her witty side is out for all to see.”