I Like To Experiment With Genres; Don't Like Being Labeled: Akshay Kumar

When Akshay Kumar impressed fans with Holiday...(2014), Baby (2015) and Airlift (2016), the actor was touted as the new patriotic flag-bearer. Now that his upcoming films Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Padman bear a social message, he’s being called the star that takes up causes. Kumar, however, isn’t happy with either of the tags.

“I am doing different kinds of characters and they are not chosen on the basis of a particular message to give in a film. Whichever script I find exciting, I take it up. Last year I did comedy with Housefull 3. I keep experimenting with genres. I don’t want any particular image for myself, I don’t want anybody to say that I am an action or a comedy hero. I want people to think ki ye koi bhi role kar leta hai (He can do any kind of a role),” says the 49-year-old National Award winning actor, whose next film deals with the issue of open defecation, and propagates the message of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in an entertaining way.

He explains the consequences of being trapped in a certain image. “I have gone through a lot because of image issues. In the first 14 years of my career, I had the image of only being an action hero. It came to a stage where I started hating action films. When you get typecast in a certain image, it’s very difficult to come out of it,” he says. On the subject of supporting causes, he reminds, “I have previously also experimented with different kinds of films. I did an off-beat film like Sangharsh (1999), which everyone called a great film, but it didn’t do well on the box office. I did a film 8 x 10 Tasveer (2009) but not even 4 by 5 people came to see it in theatres (laughs). Thankfully, I got a lot of chances to prove myself but (breaking an image) it’s quite hard actually.”

Justifying his decision to do multiple films every year, he says, “Every year I have to do 3-4 films. I have already signed films to shoot till the next year end. I just know what I want to do. Whether it is a right decision or a wrong decision, only time will tell.”