We miss Akshay Kumar from the time when Bollywood peaked in comedy films. The 2000s, and to some extent, early 2010s, the industry produced many comedies and Akshay starred in several of such films including Welcome, Phir Hera Pheri, De Dana Dan and more.
It has been a while since an ensemble cast came together to make us laugh. Yes, we’ve seen insane action flicks, mind-bending thrillers, cute romantic dramas, but pure comedy like the aforementioned films? That feels like a thing of the past.
So when Akshay along with his Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (BMCM), (another actioner by Ali Abbas Zafar) co-star Tiger Shroff were in Dubai to promote their Eid release, we had to ask if the industry has deemed pure comedy films as redundant.
Now, of course, there are films like Crew (starring Kareena Kapoor, Tabu and Kriti Sanon), as Akshay points out, but they are more on the drama genre than comedy. But no, Akshay doesn’t think comedy has become redundant. In fact, he says, “There is no fun in a movie without comedy. Comedy is a must and it should be present in a horror film, action film, social film, and all types of films.”
Akshay has done many films and he has made sure that a comic element is present in all of his films because he “wants families including children to watch film and love it.”
Even BMCM has comedy, he says, “It has a subtle kind of humour in it, banter between him (Tiger) and I.”
Tiger, meanwhile, completes marks a decade in the industry this year. From his first (Heropanti in 2014) to his latest, BMCM, Jackie Shroff’s son has established himself as one of Bollywood’s leading action stars. He’s got the physique and enthusiasm to indulge himself in stunts for which other actors would probably require body-doubles. He jumps quite high, and kicks as high as he jumps. “I am happy doing action, man,” he says in a comfortable laid-back tone. “I enjoy the whole process of it. Within action, I like to explore comedies, sci-fi, horror and romance.”
As it turns out, he found his perfect co-star in Akshay. We’re aware of Bollywood’s original ‘Khiladi’, aren’t we? The two share the same virtues as actors – sleeping and waking up early, committing to a fitness routine, and having the least amount of interest in parties.
“I’ve found someone like me,” Akshay had said during the trailer launch event in Mumbai last month.
Akshay and Tiger have become close friends since they embarked on the journey of BMCM. So how would two friends who share the same passion for fitness spend their time together? “Playing competitive sports for a good 2-3 hours of a day off,” Tiger said. “Or we would go to the gym and work out, followed by swimming, steam, sauna, jacuzzi, and cryotherapy.”
Interestingly, the two even had a push-ups session together before coming in for the media interactions. “Obviously he beats me,” says a humble Akshay, but Tiger was quick to interrupt. “It’s not about beating, it is about completing the task,” said Tiger.
The cast, which also includes Manushi Chhillar, Alaya F and Prithviraj Sukumaran, was required to go from extremely cold climate conditions to extremely hot.
“Physically it was very challenging,” said Tiger. “Not only because of stunts and action, but also the environment around us kept changing because we would do one schedule in the cold in the UK and immediately fly off to Abu Dhabi where it is opposite in terms of the weather. So it was physically exhausting to pull this off in extreme weather conditions.”
Talking about the film, Tiger calls it a ‘holistic entertainer,’ and a movie for all age groups. “It is a film for everybody, it has just about everything, and not only action.”
For Akshay, however, it is an intense action film after a very long time. “I’ve got a great partner (Tiger),” he says, and it is a movie with a lot of comedy. So come to the cinemas with your family and watch the film. Also, on behalf of my family and myself, I wish you all a very happy Eid.”