Showing posts with label The End. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The End. Show all posts
Main simple insaan hun…Mujhe itna hi samajh aata hai ki kaam kar, kamaayi kar aur karm kar-Akshay Kumar
8:24 AM
Akshay Kumar says he will continue to do multiple films, events and endorsements to make more money and help causes
Monika Rawal Kukreja (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 27, 2022)
Akshay Kumar’s most recent film, Bachchhan Paandey, may not have been a box-office success, but that won’t stop him from signing new projects and returning to the big screen. The actor has no reservations about taking on more acting and endorsement work, despite being accused of constantly working for money. Not only that, but the 54-year-old prefers to take things in stride and go on, even if memes tease him by implying that he will be in every biopic made. Excerpts from a freewheeling chat:
There’s this constant allegation that whether it’s doing all kinds of films or endorsements, you won’t stop making money. Are there any boundaries you have set for yourself?
Mujhe apni saari zindagi mein teen basic words samajh aaye — kaam, kamaayi aur karm. Main jee jaan laga ke kaam karta hoon. Zyada se zyada kaam karta hun taaki zyada se zyada kamaayi kar sakun. I don’t say no to any work that comes my way — kaisa bhi role ho, kaisa bhi function ho, kisi bhi cheez ki ad karni ho. Kyunki kaam se aati hai kamaayi aur uss se main koshish karta hun achhe se achha karm karne ki. For the past many years, I have paid the maximum tax each year, and I have contributed 10% of the remaining income to some noble cause. If today, I start thinking about doing less work, fewer films, fewer ads, then all these causes will be also be impacted in a way. Main simple insaan hun…Mujhe itna hi samajh aata hai — kaam kar, kamaayi kar aur karm kar.
When someone goes viral on the internet, whether it’s 19-year-old midnight runner Pradeep Mehra or 126-year-old Swami Sivananda receiving the Padma Shri, it’s assumed, especially by trolls, that you’re already working on their biopic or have acquired the rights to make a film about their lives. Do you come across these memes on a regular basis? What is your reaction?
If the meme is funny, I laugh. It’s normal to laugh if you find a joke funny, isn’t it? And who doesn’t like a good laugh? As for being at the centre of these memes, I couldn’t be happier because I’m glad that over the years I’ve managed to carve out a space for myself where I can fit into such varied roles. This is what has helped me stay relevant and in the memory of audience.
Audience is witnessing a flurry of South Indian film remakes, and you seem to be grabbing all of them, which always raises the questions about lack of original scripts. Do you plan to go slow on that front?
That’s not entirely true; I also do original scripts. Prithviraj, Ram Setu, Raksha Bandhan, OMG2, Gorkha, etc. are all original scripts. Yes, there are some remakes, too, but that’s because these are films I’ve watched and loved. I’m excited to bring this to our audience as I feel the market for the same hasn’t been tapped. And it’s not a one-way deal; even South Indian films borrow scripts from our industry. My films, such as Special 26 (2013), OMG – Oh My God! (2012) etc. have been remade in the south. Likewise, there are films featuring other Bollywood actors that have been remade as well. If something has worked and is successful, everyone wants a piece of the pie.
Your fans have been waiting for your OTT debut for a long time now. When do you think we’ll finally see you in a web show? You recently mentioned that the team wasn’t satisfied with the screenplay of The End. Is there anything else that you might sign soon?
Writing OTT content is very different from writing a feature film. There’s so much more that goes into web shows — multiple characters, back-to-back episodes — that you’ve got to keep in mind a multi-season arc while writing to have the germ of the following seasons ready. But especially with The End, we are attempting to do something, which has never been done in our Indian space. The story, the technology, the characters... we are trying to make the kind of content that pushes the boundaries as we know it. The good news, though, is that I will start filming for it in the first half of 2023.
Bachchhan Paandey got mixed reviews and the success of The Kashmir Files seems to have impacted the box-office collections. What’s your take?
Firstly, let me tell you that I am elated with the success that The Kashmir Files has seen. It shows you the power of cinema and that there is no formula for starting budgets and films in a certain way that guarantees success. It proves that the audiences are who we make our films for, and when they lap up something, it just flies. Yes, I would have liked Bachchhan Paandey to do better than what it is doing, but not once do I blame The Kashmir Files for it. That film is a storm, and we came in the eye of it.
We don’t know whether vaccine certificates are acceptable for travel, says The End producer Vikram Malhotra
8:10 AM
Eager to roll The End, creator-producer of Akshay’s web debut says lack of clarity regarding international travel rules delaying the project
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 2, 2021)
Even as producer Vikram Malhotra doled out three films in the past 12 months, including the recent Sherni, he has had his focus constantly trained on his passion project, The End. Akshay Kumar’s maiden OTT project, which has to be shot in foreign locations, has not got off the ground due to the pandemic-induced travel restrictions. Though Europe has reopened its borders for fully vaccinated travellers, the producer says that lack of clarity on several counts has made him play the waiting game.
“We’ve been speaking to authorities and their local counterparts to understand the protocols [for international travel]. We don’t know whether vaccine certificates are acceptable for travel. Which vaccines are [deemed] acceptable is another area of discussion. We are awaiting official statements on the matter. We have utilised the lockdown period to finish writing The End and begin pre-production,” says Malhotra.
The creator-producer is determined not to let the roadblocks hamper his grand vision for the Amazon Prime Video series. “We have to keep two variables in mind — Akshay’s dates, and the status of international travel.”
With Chhori and portions of Ram Setu being shot amid the pandemic, he maintains that filming on home turf is no cakewalk either. “In trying to mitigate Covid risk, we have created safety protocols that sometimes come in the way of shoots. For instance, everyone on set wears a face shield. But on ground, it becomes challenging for the DoP [director of photography] to check if the framing is on point [due to the additional filter],” he notes.
For now, Malhotra can take heart in the love pouring in for Vidya Balan’s Sherni. The movie not only highlighted the man-animal conflict, but also offered a sharp commentary on patriarchy. “Conservation is not just the [responsibility] of those in authority; that’s the message Amit [Masurkar, director] and Aastha [Tiku, co-writer] have beautifully conveyed. The Forest Department let us engage with forest officers, guards and trackers.”
Coronavirus effect: Big budget Bollywood projects with elaborate foreign schedules stuck in limbo
8:22 AM
With international travel off the table for the foreseeable future amid surging cases, big-budget Bollywood projects having elaborate foreign schedules in limbo
Mohar Basu, Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; May 1, 2021)
With shoots tentatively stalled till May 15, filmmakers will have an uphill task of making up for lost time when they resume work. But a tougher road ahead awaits big-budget productions that have been envisioned against the picturesque backdrops of foreign locations. As several countries barred flights from India in the wake of the deadly second wave and the possibility of international travel in the coming months remains bleak, producers have little option but to defer their projects.
A prime example is Akshay Kumar’s The End, an ambitious series that was to go on floors in the last quarter of 2021. Producer Vikram Malhotra says the team is taking it one day a time. “We are shortlisting countries at this stage. Various factors, including the conditions in the country we go to, will play a role in determining our destination. We also need [clarity] on travel restrictions and [the implementation of] vaccine passports. Our crew members belong to the 18-44 age bracket, and we need them to be vaccinated before starting work.”
If things had gone as per plan, Katrina Kaif would be showing her action prowess in front of the camera by mid-2021. But director Ali Abbas Zafar cannot kick off his actioner in the UAE until the entire team is inoculated. The timeline of several projects is linked to the nationwide vaccination drive. A unit hand, who was expected to head to Europe in August for a Disney+ Hotstar show, notes, “Given the vaccine shortage and the backlog it will create, it’s unlikely that those in the 18-44 bracket will complete both their doses before the year-end.”
Director Anil Sharma, who pushed the filming of Apne 2 from April to August, may be second time unlucky. “If things aren’t under control by then, we will delay the London leg, but we won’t risk anybody’s life.” He adds that adhering to the quarantine rules means exceeding the crew’s stay by two weeks in the UK, which will be an added expense.
Akshay Kumar's digital debut will go on floors by second half of 2021
8:46 AM
The maker of Akshay Kumar's digital debut The End, among Amazon India's biggest projects, reveals series deferred by seven months
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 31, 2020)
In March 2019, Akshay Kumar had announced his foray into the digital world with the Amazon Prime Video action thriller, The End. At the event — which also saw the superstar setting himself on fire as part of the stunts planned for the evening — Jennifer Salke, head, Amazon Studios, had expressed her excitement about the series as she stated, "The scale at which The End is being conceived is enormous. The storyline and the action sequences have been brilliantly crafted."The series, one of the biggest projects for the streaming giant's Indian arm, was to go on floors in 2020. However, with the pandemic playing spoilsport, the shoot of the ambitious venture has been deferred by seven months. "The show was to roll in December tentatively, with Akshay joining us in January 2021. But, it has been four months [into the Coronavirus lockdown], and it will be a few more months before normalcy is restored. Akshay, too, has other commitments. So, we are hoping to get into production by the second half of 2021," says producer Vikram Malhotra of Abundantia Entertainment.
Malhotra says the team is mindful that the series be mounted on a scale befitting the superstar. "It isn't a project that we, as makers, can tweak and start [shooting] next month. We've used the time to improve the material." While the show was to be filmed in India and key locations abroad, he admits that the venues can only be finalised "after the situation stabilises."
For now, the producer has his eyes on Shakuntala Devi that drops online today. The makers had faced much criticism when they, like director Shoojit Sircar, sought a digital premiere of their film. "The director, actors, writers and other producers unanimously decided that it was best not to hold off the release, given the uncertain times. Vidya [Balan] and I wanted the story to be told to the audience because our material was ready by March."
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