Akshay Kumar: B-Town’s biggest path-breaker

In 2012 while speaking to this very paper, Akshay Kumar had stated, “I know what is wanted of me, I know what is expected of me, but sometimes you just want to step out of the commercial requirements (even though I love them) and create something more challenging, even though you are at a risk of failing, sometimes you need to keep the ‘artiste’ in you ‘alive’! That’s why I’ll always be a risk-taker! Not only when it comes to action and doing all those risky stunts, but also the kind of roles. That’s why I have a film like Special 26 with a Khiladi 786 and a film like OMG — Oh My God with Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara.” 

And while this was almost seven years ago, the superstar has stayed true to his words. The fact that he’s playing a man who gets possessed by the ghost of a transgender in his upcoming film Laxmmi Bomb is just one of the many risks he’s taken in his almost three-decade-long career. Here’s a look at some of the ways in which the actor-producer has been a visionary and often, way ahead of his contemporaries...

PLAYING A HOMOSEXUAL

In 2016’s Dishoom, Akshay played a gay character. It may not seem like such a big deal now, with actors like Fawad Khan (in Kapoor and Sons), Sonam K Ahuja (in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga) and Ayushmann Khurrana in the upcoming Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan essaying homosexuals, but AK is the first among the ’90s generation actors to take on a role like this. Even more so, because he has such a strong macho image. Kudos to him for that!

Akshay Kumar in Dishoom (left) and Akshay Kumar in 2.0

VILLAINY DOWN SOUTH

In last year’s 2.0,directed by Shankar, the Khiladi Kumar  wasn’t just a villain. He was a super villain. That’s because it was the first time that a Bollywood superstar had given his nod to play the antagonist in a South film. Pitted against Thalaiva Rajinikanth, Akshay held his own as Pakshi Rajan, the ornithologist-turned-baddie, ensuring that the film was a big success, both in Telugu and in its Hindi version.

SOCIAL AWARENESS

Who would have thought that a movie with ‘Toilet’ in its title would collect Rs 132 crore at the domestic box office. Firstly, it’s a little hard to imagine a film with a title like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. Secondly, for it to be associated with Akshay as the lead. But the socially-aware actor was not hesitant upon taking on the role of a man who stands up against open defecation and wants to improve the sanitation conditions in his village in this 2017 movie. He didn’t just stop at that. The National Award winner went on to act in last year’s Pad Man, based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist from Tamil Nadu who introduced low-cost sanitary napkins for women. While promoting the social drama, the superstar emphasised on the need for menstrual hygiene. The film was a bold move, even on AK’s part, who is known to take on risks. 

Akshay Kumar in Pad Man (left) and Akshay Kumar at the launch of The End

DIGITAL DEBUT

Yes, we know that Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are the first of the big-league actors to venture into the online space with Sacred Games. But for someone of Akshay’s stature, who is one of the reigning superstars of today, to give his nod to a show on the OTT platform, is a big deal. At the launch of the thriller series, titled The End, he revealed that he was encouraged to step into the digital space as his son Aarav wanted him to. Never to shy away from trying something new and innovative, this is Akshay again, saying ‘Bring it on!’