Why is Akshay on fire?

Akshay Kumar is all set to make his digital debut.

At the launch of Amazon Prime's action thriller -- tentatively titled The End -- Akshay arrived with his hands and feet on fire.

'Literally, all fired up for my association with @PrimeVideoIN's THE END (working title). Trust me, this is only the beginning @JSalke @vikramix @Abundantia_Ent', Akshay tweeted after the event.

To which worried wife Twinkle Khanna replied, 'Crap! This is how I find out that you decided to set yourself on fire! Come home and I am going to kill you -- in case you do survive this! #GodHelpMe'.

To which Akshay replied, 'Now that's something I'd actually be afraid of'.

The show will take the 51-year-old actor back to his action roots he owes to the Khiladi films of the 1990s.

It will be an "edge-of-the-seat" action series, Jennifer Salke, head-Amazon studios (worldwide), told PTI.

Akshay, whose recent filmography features socially relevant films and comedies, said the show cannot be termed as his comeback to the action genre.

"When did I go away from it? I have never gone away from action. Action is within me. I call myself a stuntman first and then an actor," the superstar said at the launch event.

While Akshay refrained from divulging the plot details, he said it will be "a fun and an entertaining" story.

Son Aarav, Akshay revealed, urged him to venture into the digital space.

"It will be a global hit," Salke predicted about Akshay's show. "We will be behind it in the way we have been behind so many projects like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Jack Ryan, Homecoming."

James Farrell, head of international originals, Amazon Prime Video, said Amazon and Akshay started discussing the project three years ago.

"Akshay has been thinking about this one for years. He is just trying to figure out what he could do for his fans that was different. He wanted to go back to his action roots, but not have it as the usual three hour film arc. (He thought) 'What I could do for multiple years with lots of twists and turns?'" Farrell told PTI.

The series, which is expected to start production soon, will take place over "many seasons and many years", Farrell added.

The series will be produced by Abundantia Entertainment, the banner behind Prime Video's series Breathe.

Photographs: Pradeep Bandekar. Additional Reportage: PTI