Akshay Kumar has been one of the most successful actors of his generation in Hindi cinema. Over a career of 32 years, he has delivered several hits. But the last couple of years have been tough for his films, particularly at the box office. Since Sooryavanshi, every film of his has failed at the box office. His latest release – Selfiee – had a torrid opening day, earning only Rs 2.55 crore.
In a recent interview given prior to Selfiee’s release, Akshay spoke about this spate of flops and admitted he was the only person to be blamed for it. Speaking in Aaj Tak’s Seedhi Baat, the actor said, “This has not happened with me for the first time. There was a time when 16 films of mine did not work one after the other. Another time, eight films of mine did not work. Even now, 3-4 recent films have not work. The thing is it is your own fault that a film is not working. Audience has changed and you have to change too and rework. You have to dismantle and start creating yourself again, because the audience requires to see something else. It is a great alarm button when 3-4 films flop that it is time to change. That I am doing, I am trying.”
When asked how the change of course in his career affected him, the actor responded that he never tried to blame anyone else for his failures. “It isn’t just my life story, it happens to everyone because it is a natural aspect that there is night after day and morning after night. Every business can’t be a hit, every cricketer can’t score a century every time. The only thing I want to tell everyone is stop blaming anyone. Don’t blame the audience, it is you. It is my fault,” said Akshay.
The actor reiterated the need to reinvent and change in times like these and said, “This is my fault, 100%. Your film not working is not because of the audience or any other thing. It is because you have not given the right ingredients in your film. You have to change, like I said.”
Selfiee, directed by Raj Mehta, also stars Emraan Hashmi in the lead, along with Diana Penty, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Abhimanyu Singh, and Meghna Malik. The film, a remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence, collected just Rs 2.55 crore on its first day. This is Akshay’s lowest-opening film in 14 years.
