Rachit Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; December 22, 2018)

Once known to be the goto star for action and comedy films, Akshay Kumar has diversified his choice of movies and roles in the recent past. He’s worked wonders in social dramas like Pad Man and Toilet – Ek Prem Katha and the upcoming historical, Kesari features Akshay as a Sikh warrior, too. The superstar producer feels that it’s becoming important for Indian filmmakers and actors to bring more to the table, because the taste of Indian audiences has evolved and their expectations have only increased. In a recent conversation, Akshay said, “It’s not so much an evolution of cinema as it is an evolution of the digital platform. With the advent of online platforms and apps, Indian audiences now have so much choice in terms of entertainment. The viewer is exposed to content from all around the world and most of it is high-concept stuff with state-of-the-art visual effects and production quality.”

The actor feels that it’s become a challenge to get the common man to buy tickets for a movie. He added, “Watching a film with your family over the weekend can cost 1000 bucks or more. So the average viewers are not going to spend their hard earned money on stars and films unless they too give them the same kind of entertainment that they’re used to watching on their phones and laptops, every day. We have to give the audience films that are worth their money and time.” That’s the reason, Akshay is consciously experimenting with his roles and subjects in cinema.