Sonil Dedhia in Mumbai
After a successful 2012, which saw a number of his films (Rowdy Rathore, Housefull-2 and Khiladi 786) entering the Rs 100 crore club, Akshay Kumar is at the peak of his career once again.
While everyone's talking about gaining entry into this coveted club, Akshay simply shrugs it off. "I don't believe in competition. We actors are not derby horses to decide, who will come first second and third."
The 45-year-old-actor is gearing up for his next release, Special Chabbis, directed by Neeraj Pandey, of A Wednesday fame.
The subject of Special Chabbis is a real-life jewellery heist during the late 1980s. An unknown man posing as a CBI officer led a daylight raid on a jewellery shop in Mumbai with the help of 26 men posing as income tax officers, and disappeared with jewellery worth lakhs.
Akshay: To work on a film based on a real incident has its own fun
Neeraj, 38, took four years to make Special Chabbis.
"After A Wednesday, I was looking for a subject that could be developed into a good script. I had read a news article sometime in 2000 of unsolved cases in Mumbai and this incident caught my eye. I wrote the script and fortunately, it turned out to be good and we decided to go ahead with it," Neeraj said.
Akshay said that he initially refused the film, as he wasn't very convinced about the script.
"When I first read the script, I wasn't very convinced. After a couple of years, Neeraj decided to narrate the story again. When I heard the story from him, it began to sound very interesting. That's when I decided to do the film," he said.
Akshay says what attracted him to the film is that it is inspired by a real life incident. "To work on a film based on a real incident has its own fun."
Though he plays a real life character, Akshay says, "I didn't have to do any homework because Neeraj had done his work very well. I just used to come on the sets and do what he told me to."Akshay: I have charged only half my remuneration for this film
Neeraj wanted to make Special Chabbis as a television mini-series initially.
"I had decided to make this film as a television series in 2005. It would have been a totally different take. But TV is not inclined towards mini-series as television channels seem to have scrapped the stand-alone slots."
Akshay also mentions that the film could only be made at a certain budget.
"This movie could be made only in a certain budget. Every films has is own way to be made with a different audience. I have charged only half my remuneration. I don't have any kind of pressure as it is a great product and am sure people will like it. I am proud to be associated with it," he says.
Akshay: Everyone makes mistakes
After a successful 2012, a lot of people have started attributing the superstar tag with the actor and Akshay obviously does not mind.
"No one has a problem with the title of superstar. Who will not like the title if it's bestowed on him? But I am here to enact my characters and I try to perform to the best of my ability," he says.
Akshay, who completed more than two decades in the industry, says uncertainty has never scared me in his life.
"Everyone makes mistakes and it will happen in the future too. There is no actor who doesn't make mistakes. It is like a ladder, which helps us move ahead. Not much changes in me, except my bank balance," he signs off.
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