Akshay Kumar on reinventing himself in Bollywood
The actor will next be seen in ‘Kesari’, releasing in the UAE on March 21
A historical film like ‘Kesari’, a mass entertainer like ‘Sooryavanshi’ and a web series — Akshay Kumar’s slate of upcoming projects showcase a diversity that he has maintained through his nearly three-decade-long career. He says he enjoys reinventing himself as an actor.
Kumar was interacting with media to promote his upcoming film ‘Kesari’ in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Whether it is action, drama, romance, comedy or socially relevant films, Kumar has dabbled in it all.
Asked whether it gets difficult for an actor to keep reinventing himself, he said: “It is not difficult but I would say it is fun. If I am changing my image, it is because I am enjoying it. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. I feel you have to enjoy the work that you do.
“It feels great to do different characters all the time. When I started my career, that time I was doing only action films and nobody used give me roles which involved romance, comedy, tragedy or drama. One fine day, it just broke when I got ‘Hera Pheri’ and then, I started doing different kinds of roles.”
Kumar said that at one point in his career, he felt ashamed that he was doing similar kind of films.
“There was a time in my career when I used to feel ashamed of myself because I was doing similar kind of films which involved action. So once I got opportunity to dabble into various genres, I started enjoying my work. Since the last 12 years, I have got a chance to keep on changing my image as an actor. So, I feel it is not a tough thing for me,” he said.
Kumar will also feature in films such as ‘Mission Mangal’, ‘Housefull 4’ and ‘Good News’.
A news report was recently headlined: ‘2019 is Akshay Kumar’s year. Move over Khans’.
Does he agree? “I have never said something like that. What is move over Khans or anybody? This is an industry for everyone and everybody is there to last. I think to be in this industry and to sustain in this industry is a very big thing, so there is nothing like that. This is all media created and I think it is a nonsensical discussion.”
‘Kesari’, also starring Parineeti Chopra, is releasing on March 21 in the UAE.