Akshay Kumar: terrorism films spread awareness

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar says he completely relied on his director Neeraj Pandey while playing an undercover agent in their upcoming film Baby.

Kumar, 47, who has played law enforcement officers in his earlier films Holiday, Rowdy Rathore and Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo, said he went to the set of Baby as a newcomer. It is Kumar’s second collaboration with Pandey after Special 26.

“I didn’t do any special preparation for the film because I was asked not to. If I would have prepared there would have been a clash with the director.

“I completely relied on Neeraj and his script. I generally give my suggestions to directors but in this film I completely listened to him. In a nutshell, I became my director’s actor for playing Ajay Singh Rajput,” Kumar said.

In the thriller, which releases in the UAE on January 22, Kumar, one of Bollywood’s top action stars, is once again broaching the subject of terrorism. If Holiday was about sleeper cells, Baby looks at how people in India face the threat from terrorists and how the government tries to prevent such attacks. He says the intent is to discuss these issues “openly” to spread awareness.

“Baby will tell people how to be aware about terrorist activities. These kind of films just make people vigilant,” Kumar said. “I’m playing an undercover agent in the film. We are a group named Baby, which includes Anupam Kher, Rana Daggubati and a few other actors.”

Director Pandey’s film A Wednesday! was also about the impact of terrorism on people.

“Baby is a well-carved film. It talks about terrorism, which is a big consideration in today’s world. Terrorism, as a topic, can be seen in every newspaper. So we thought of making people aware about it. The film talks very openly about it. The story of Baby is inspired by various real life incidents,” added Kumar.

In the film, Kumar has a poor relationship with Kher, unlike their roles in Special 26.

“For the first time we have shared such a different relationship in a film. Mine and his viewpoints don’t match and we just hate each other in the group, which is on a secret mission,” he said.

The film’s ensemble cast also includes Danny Denzongpa and Taapsee Pannu.

“Baby has been shot in just 45 days and we completed Special 26 in 32 days. It’s a good thing for an [actor] because his time is not getting wasted and you also get out of the character quickly. Generally, an actor gets bored after shooting for 50 to 60 days,” said Kumar.

After Baby, Kumar will be seen in Karan Johar’s Brothers, Airlift and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Main Gabbar.

“It’s important for an actor to keep on jumping from one genre to the other. Otherwise, it becomes very boring to play similar kind of roles. As an actor, I enjoy doing slapstick comedy, dry humour, serious and action films,” the actor said.

“For example, Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a horror film. Namastey London was a romantic one. Also, I have done many comedy films. However, a lot depends upon viewers’ taste. People love to see me doing action films,” said Kumar, adding that he loves to portray romance on screen, if he’s not doing a lot of action.

Asked if he ever gets affected by playing a character on-screen, Kumar said: “I don’t think about my roles after pack up. I just unwind myself after finishing a shoot by saying, ‘Stop acting now and face reality’.”