It is strange to see Akshay Kumar getting more brickbats than bouquets for the choice of his movies when his repertoire is far more envious than all the Khans combined. Be it no-brainers, be it serious, be it comedies, be it thrillers, Akshay has done it all and all of them have been profitable and some of them even critically acclaimed. He might not be leading the race when it comes to the 100 crore club but he has carved a place for himself among the masses.
Though many consider him downmarket, Akshay Kumar today is definitely a force to reckon with because as a total outsider, he has managed to do extremely well. He easily defines what a superstar is and should be.
A Bankable Star
Several media outlets reported that Akshay’s movies have grossed a mammoth 2000 crores at the box office. Now in terms of business this is huge and this establishes the fact he is a bankable star but the problem is he is not much conspicuous like the Khans. Maybe in a way it is good because instead of antics, controversies he wants his work to speak for himself and they definitely do.
Less Popularity Than The Khans
It is strange that he has less popularity than the Khans even when he manages to make movies belonging to different genres. Shahrukh is consistenly trying to follow the southern model with apparent no brainers, Salman Khan is doing his own brand of ‘Rajini Khan’ movies while Aamir is constantly being preachy and with his movies. So in this confusion it is Akshay whose movies break all the barriers. He is doing action, thriller, comedy, romance as well as bordering on arty. Yet, I feel that he is often snubbed and his popularity lacks the attention that SRK or Salman gets. Maybe it will change with time and it should. It must or we will denying our complete superstar the respect he deserves.
Comparisong With Peer And Fellow Action Star, Ajay Devgan
Ajay and Akhsay were contemporaries and they have several movies together. But I will keep Akshay ahead of Ajay. Let me put this on record, Akshay can easily manage a Gangajaal or an Apaharan but he will fumble with a Housefull, like he did with Himmatwala which turned out to be turkey at the box office. Where Akshay has struck gold with Housefull series, he has also done movies like Special Chabbis which speaks about the flexibility Akhsay is. Once again, Ajay’s Action Jackson under-performed at the box office. Maybe with Akshay the story would have been different.
The South India Connection
Akshay Kumar becomes directors’ favourites when it comes to South Indian remakes. Till now he has done countless remakes, yes the number might be more than Salman Khan and all of them have performed very well at the box office. His upcoming release Gabbar too is a south Indian remake but I feel it was Hera Pheri, yes it was a remake of Ramji Rao Speaking, that Akshay found his true calling and his partnership with Priyadarshan finally took off that have managed to regale audiences ever since. His Khatta Meetha to Rowdy Rathore all imbibe a bit of his Akshay-ism and even though Khatta Meetha didn’t do well at the box office, Akshay’s Sachin Tichkule did manage to win hearts.
His Movies This Year
His first release of the year, Baby is already a stupendous success and is critically acclaimed. And then we are going to see him Gabbar Singh and Brothers. The former a south Indian remake while the latter is going to be an official remake of Warriors. Now once again let me reiterate one thing, look at his variability, he is doing every possible genre of movies when other stars are shying away or keeping it safe. Maybe it is time when some of the more experimental directors start working with him and yes, Nagesh Kukunoor’s Tasveer 8×10 was a flop but now the time is ripe that the Kashyaps and Dibakars rope in his talent.
Where Can We See Him In The Future
Though we don’t much about his future projects but he has signed Airlift which apparently is going to be another thriller and the story is based on the largest air evacuation ever taking place. There are also talks of Rowdy Rathore 2, Singh is Bling, an action movie with Siddharth Anand as well as Housefull 3. We are definitely in for a thrill but we do have to note that he is going to dabble in all possible genres. And that’s what makes Akshay the complete star.
The post Sunday Read: How Akshay Kumar Has Survived The Khan Onslaught and Why He’s Still A Force To Reckon With appeared first on Bollywood Celebden.
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