I always crave a big hit: Akshay Kumar

The actor wants to do serious films but regrets that no one comes to watch them.

MUMBAI: Akshay Kumar’s last two outings - Khatta Meetha and Action Replayy - failed to work at the box office. This hasn’t dampened the Bollywood star’s spirit but he admits he is craving for a big hit and hopes his upcoming film, Tees Maar Khan, will work.

“If you follow my career graph, there have been a lot of ups and downs. It doesn’t matter. I am not desperate but yes, I crave for a big hit all the time because I work very hard. I release around four films a year. I work very hard in each and every film,” Kumar said.

About his last release Action Replayy, the 43-year-old star feels either the screenplay or his retro look could not connect with the audience.

“Action Replayy didn’t work. It couldn’t connect with the audience. I tried to reason it out and I think it would be because of the look or because of the screenplay,” said Kumar. The actor, who primarily worked in action films in the 1990s, managed to reinvent his career with comic films. Kumar’s biggest hits include films like Hera Pheri and Singh is Kinng and even his  romance films such as Namastey London worked at the box office.

Right now he is looking forward to his action-packed film Tees Maar Khan in which director Farah Khan is presenting him as a con artist. The film is scheduled to release on December 25th.

“This is a fun character, full of enjoyment. He (the character) is a con man and so there is a lot of mischief. The character is actually very shrewd. He always tries fooling people because he wants to make it big. He never does anything himself; he makes people do things for him. I haven’t done such a fun and frolic role for a long time,” said Kumar.

Kumar wants to do serious movies but regrets there are no takers for such stories.

“If you ask me whether I would like to do a serious film, yes, I would love to do serious roles, serious characters. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. No one comes to see serious films. Everyone looks for fun films. I have tried doing something or the other and I will keep doing it if I get a good script. There are certain types of people who don’t want straight or hard-hitting films. You have to understand your audience and keep continue  to perform your heart out. This is what my experience tells me.”

“Also, I have to understand the business. I can’t do a film to satisfy myself; I have to satisfy others because I am an entertainer,” said Kumar.

Undeterred by failures, the actor has big plans for next year.

“I have not given up. Next year I am doing a very high-end action film with Prabhu Deva,” said the actor.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2010.