All that glitters is not gold

Superstar Akshay Kumar says working in film industry not always profitable

MUMBAI: Superstar Akshay Kumar shared it is a misconception that the Indian film industry is profitable and wealthy. In reality, there is a dire need for hits to overcome its current losses. Akshay has been one of the most consistent performers at the box office over the years, delivering at least three to four films every year, and according to him, Bollywood is striving on very few hits. “I hope it receives several hits because it has the potential to give you a lot. But at the moment, the industry is going through a major loss,” he said on Monday.

While most of Akshay’s films have fared well, the ones which haven’t been able to live up to the audience’s expectations have also managed to recover costs. Last year, all of his four films Baby, Brothers, Gabbar Is Back and Singh Is Bliing earned close to INR 100 crore at the box office. Akshay’s latest offering, patriotic drama Airlift, has collected INR 44 crore on its opening weekend alone. “I hope this continues every week because according to me, people have this misconception that the industry is a ‘sone ki chidiya’ (golden bird),” Akshay said.



As the leading man and producer of Airlift, Akshay shared he is ecstatic to have had the opportunity to produce a film with such a lovely script. “I can’t express my happiness. If I could, I would jump with joy that people have loved this film and enjoyed it.”  He further added that, “I would like to thank everyone who has appreciated this film. Usually, such films only reach a certain point like 40 crore to 60 crore, because they don’t have songs, no commerciality and no comedy.” Akshay will next be seen in Housefull 3, alongside Riteish Deshmukh and Abhishek Bachchan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2016.

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