Akshaye Khanna has a surprise for fans. But to know what it is, they have to watch his new release Naqaab.
Akshaye Khanna made an impression with his debut film Himalayaputra (1997), but his career never took off until Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai (2001). His performance was a revelation and won him the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Filmfares. He then made an intelligent move to choose performance-oriented roles, thereby creating a niche for himself and consolidating himself with successive hits such as Humraaz, Deewangee and Hungama. He followed this up with an excellent comic act in Hulchul, which went on to be a big hit.
It is now a foregone conclusion that if Khanna is starring in a film, he will have a good role and the film will have some substance.
Khanna's current release Naqaab sees the actor teaming up once again with director duo Abbas-Mustan and co-star Bobby Deol. The Naqaab is a thriller and deals with the subject of infidelity, making it look like a sequel to Humraaz. But Khanna clarifies: "Naqaab is not similar to Humraaz. Agreed that Bobby and I are acting together in a similar genre under Abbas-Mustan's direction, but the storyline is different. When you watch the film you realise that the characters are different from what you saw in Humraaz."
We need to believe Khanna's words to an extent as an actor of his calibre wouldn't repeat his roles. But surely acting in an Abbas-Mustan movie should make him excited as he won rave reviews and won the IIFA Best Villain Award for his negative act in Humraaz. "I share a very good rapport with Abbas-Mustan and Naqaab happens to be my third film with them after Humraaz and 36 China Town. I am happy with the way they shaped up my roles in these films. They have done something similar in Naqaab too. The audience will be in for a surprise when they watch Naqaab as Abbas-Mustan proves why they are the best in the business."
A good co-star
"Bobby is a cool guy and a very nice human being. He is a delight to work with and I thoroughly enjoy being with him on the sets. We will be more than happy to work together again provided there is a good script."
There are some interesting projects in store from this vesatile actor in the coming months.
"After Naqaab, I have Gandhi My Father slated to release next month. It is being produced by Anil Kapoor and directed by Feroze Khan, who is a big name in theatre and has directed umpteen plays on Mahatma Gandhi.
"It is a very thought-provoking film and I have a challenging role. Besides this film, I am doing Yashraj's Aaja Nachle, which is due by the end of the year," says the actor.
Khanna promises to spring some surprises with his roles this year and his fans look forward to them.
