Akshay Kumar made his entry into the film industry as an action star. The 1992 film Khiladi marked his breakthrough as an actor, and after three decades in the industry, the actor has got the chance to explore, reinvent and transform himself time and again. As he gears up for the release of the comedy drama Welcome to the Jungle, the actor opened up about his thoughts on transforming as an actor.
What Akshay said
Speaking with news agency PTI, Akshay said he realised after the first decade in the Hindi film industry that he was stuck in the action star image and needed to break out urgently. And he did that by exploring different genres such as comedy, drama, romance and horror comedy. “Thirty-five years are a long time…. It is a one in a billion or million chance to have 35 years of career. I hope I go further and cross 40. The prayer is that I keep shooting just five minutes before my death. Initially, when I came to the industry, I only wanted to make money,” he said.
“But after that decade, when I saw my films, I felt like slapping myself. I had only done action roles and nobody thought I was capable of anything else. I realised that I needed to transform myself and I wanted to do different characters. I then did ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Dhadkan’, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’, ‘Toilet…Ek Prem Katha’ and ‘Padman’. I have kept transforming myself,” he added.
About Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome to the Jungle is directed by Ahmed Khan, written by Neeraj Vora, and produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, Rakesh Dang, and Vedant Vikaas Baali under Base Industries Group, Cape of Good Films and Seeta Films. The film places Akshay Kumar at the centre of a chaotic adventure. Welcome to the Jungle is the story of a ‘fake film’ being shot in the jungles where the cast and crew are mistaken for army personnel in an accidental clash against bandits.
Welcome To The Jungle boasts one of the largest ensemble casts seen in a Bollywood comedy in recent years. The film also stars Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Aftab Shivdasani, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Kiran Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Vindu Dara Singh, Urvashi Rautela, Hemant Pandey, Brijendra Kala, Feroze Khan, Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry, Jeetu Verma, Vrihi Kodvara, Adityaa Singgh, and Bhagya Bhanushali, among others.