Meena Iyer (DNA; August 6, 2018)

Akshay Kumar (50) is having the best time of his life at the movies. Forgotten is that phase when he was infamous for doing mindless action in Bollywood’s assembly-line films, most of which resembled the other. Today, Akshay is on top of his game.

Completely at ease in meaningful cinema — most of them propagating good causes and patriotism in equal measure — the erstwhile Khiladi is now considered a master of the game. His films pack a punch, his roles have gravitas and he’s having a ‘golden’ (no pun intended on his next film’s title) run.

Meeting the super-confident megastar and listening to him speak about all things Indian is always a pleasure. Over to AK:

You are building a brand for India through your cinema, what with your films having heavy doses of patriotic fervour and all. Is this deliberate?
Of course, it’s not deliberate. Brand India is much more important than Brand AK. I’m a small cog in a wheel and I don’t give myself that kind of importance to even think that I’m the one who is doing anything significant. If you are seeing a change in the kind of cinema I’m currently dabbling in, it’s because I have started to meet a lot of people, who have so many stories to share.

There are such amazing tales that often end up just remaining in our history books. I want to bring them alive, I want to revisit them through my movies. For example, my film Kesari, which is based on the Battle of Saragarhi, is an amazing story of courage. I remember reading about Saragarhi when I was in school. Back then, it was just another battle. But the wonderful part is that while making the film, I learnt so much more about it. And believe me, when people watch it, they will also be amazed at what that battalion of 21 Sardars/Sikh soldiers did. While Hollywood revisits a film like 300 (which revolves around 300 Spartans who fight the Persians) on a mammoth scale and makes people realise the real significance of such a war, not many people know about the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi in which 21 brave Sikhs were up against 14,000 Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen from Afghanistan. We have so many good and inspiring stories to tell our future generations. And, when I hear or revisit some of them that can lend themselves to fantastic scripts, I feel the urge to be a part of such cinema. It is not a conscious decision to try and do films with a patriotic bent. It is the other way around. Patriotic movies are being brought to me and I’m drawn to them because, as I pointed out earlier, these need to be taken to a larger audience.

It’s too much of a coincidence though, that every second script you pass these days has a ‘jingostic’ message in it!
I want to bring the history textbooks alive. Take Airlift, for example. Before the film was announced, did you know that 1,72,000 Indians were airlifted and brought back to their homeland from under the nose of Saddam Hussein after his Iraqi army invaded Kuwait? Back then, barely a couple of articles were published. But after the film released, thousands were written. It’s a known and proven fact that visuals will remain in your memory for a longer period of time than the written word. That’s the whole idea behind making a film like Airlift. I consider myself lucky to get such subjects.

Your Independence Day release Gold talks of India’s first gold medal in hockey. Did you know about this chapter in history or did you hear it from director Reema Kagti when she approached you?
Reema came over, introduced herself and mentioned the films she has made. Then Javed saab (Javed Akhtar) told me about the movie’s subject. I was surprised to hear ki aisa hua tha... achha, yeh bhi hua tha. There were so many things I learnt from Javed saab that day — how in 1936, we won our first gold as British India.  However, on that occasion, the Union Jack was raised and we had to salute to it. There were so many problems after they left our country and we became an independent nation in 1947. Within a year, we had to prepare ourselves to bring a team not only to England but also to play against every other country. In the end, it was India against the British, it was the slaves versus the masters. I was shocked. If you asked someone how India won its first gold medal, probably just a handful of people would be able to tell you. Even I didn’t know about it. But after watching Gold, I’m sure many will share this story. This fact needed to be brought to light. Our country has so many sportspeople and can produce so many more too. I’m glad things are changing now. Recently, Hima Das won India’s first gold medal in a track event. I was super excited about her victory and I want to encourage others like her to come forward. We have won the gold in various sports, but never in athletics. We have to keep at it, not rest on our laurels.

In a lighter vein, you also fill the gaps between your patriotic movies with films like Housefull 4.
(Interrupts) I can’t leave those films either. I need those, too. And I will be doing such movies every once in a while. When I started my career, for about 15 years I suffered as the media only called me an ‘action hero’. I used to ask producers to give me a comic role or a romantic character or even a serious part. After a long time, filmmaker Priyadarshan gave me a chance with Hera Pheri (2000) and later Dharmesh Darshan gave me Dhadkan in the same year. When I tasted success during this phase, I swore that I will never let anyone tag me or stereotype me. So, I continue to dabble in genres.

Whatever you may say, these days your movies do have that pro-India twist.
The answer is in your question. I’m not talking about Brand Akshay Kumar. However, subconsciously, I do want to keep building on Brand India.

How do you continue to motivate yourself to go to work each morning?
The motivation comes from doing different kinds of roles. When I used to do only action, I hated going to work. I’d think wohi toh karna hai, fight karna hai, kick maarni hai, thoda dance karna hai. However, in the last decade, I have more motivation to go to the studios. Not only have I started to strike a balance in the type of films I choose but I also go to a set only for three months at a stretch. After that, I need a change because after doing one film for 90 days, I get bored. I want to enjoy doing every film I commit myself to. I am super-disciplined. I get to work as early as 8 or 9 am. And I am on set till 5 pm. I don’t waste any time on set. I work on one film at a time, wrap it up within a stipulated period and before boredom sets in, I’m finished with the project.

Besides shooting, what else gives you maximum joy?
Frankly what I enjoy most is picking up my children from school. I also love to stay fit, so I keep trying out a new fitness regime from time to time.

Do you also help your daughter to do her homework?
(Laughs uncontrollably) Never. That is my wife Tina’s department. She is the brain in our home, I am the brawn. And I have no qualms about admitting it. I definitely participate in a lot of sport with my children. My wife is slightly weak in that department (smiles).

You never seem to relax. Even your vacations are all about goals...
There’s no waste of time. We have only one life. When you sit on the couch, play a game on the computer or just sit doing nothing, soon your cholesterol levels will go up. It’s not that I don’t enjoy chilling out. On vacation, I do indulge myself in good food, desserts and even put on some weight. But after the first week, I feel the need to do something constructive.

Besides acting, you’re also producing films. Don’t you want to direct?
No, I don’t want to venture in that direction. I want to be happy (laughs).