Content gets you the box office figures: Akshay

There is a little bit of comic element in Holiday, but otherwise it’s a serious thriller.

MUMBAI: No one can fault Akshay Kumar’s dare-devilry on screen, but Bollywood’s action titan insists his forthcoming film Holiday  — A Soldier Is Never Off Duty shouldn’t be confused with a typical action-drama. He says the film’s topic, which focuses on terrorism and sleeper cells, as well as real stunts sets it apart.

“Holiday is an amazing film on what terrorism is all about and how the army tries to capture the sleeper cells,” said Akshay, who has teamed up with Sonakshi Sinha for the fifth time in the movie.

“It is not a typical Akshay Kumar film where I am doing fun and comedy all the time,” he added.

Excerpts from the interview:

Do box office figures determine the star value of an actor?

The days of box office collections are gone. The audience wants to see content in films and if there is content, then it automatically gets you good box office figures.

I did Holiday because there was content in it. It is not a typical Akshay Kumar film where I am doing fun and comedy all the time. Yes, there is a little bit of comic element in Holiday, but otherwise the film is a serious thriller.

You say the film is a serious thriller, but promos show just comedy and songs. Is it deliberate?

You are right. But from now on you will start watching promos that will show seriousness of the film. Since it is a Hindi film, there has to be some song and dance.

There’s a lot of hand-to-hand combat in the film…

Yes, the film has very real action. You won’t see the kind of action I did in Boss or Khiladi 786 where I would just punch and 20 people would fly in every corner. Greg Powell, who was the stunt coordinator on Skyfall, has choreographed the action sequences in Holiday. We haven’t taken the help of cables. If I kick someone and take a somersault, it is all real. It is compulsory for the producer to insure all the actors. So if something happens, we are taken care of.  

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2014.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.