Akshay Kumar has seen several highs and lows in his career. After setting himself as an action star in the 90s, Akshay suffered back-to-back 16 flops, leading to several of his films being halted in between. Recently producer Suneel Darshan revealed that when the film industry decided not to support him, he went on to make Jaanwar with him, and that film put him back in the map of successful actors.
In the interview with Friday Talkies, Suneel revealed that Akki's iconic comedy, Hera Pheri, and classic love story Dhadkan were among those films that got stuck in between due to Kumar's dull phase. He said, "There was a problem. He had had many flops during that time and many of his prominent films had been halted midway. Like Hera Pheri, the film was shot 90 per cent and then it was blocked. Dhadkan, four reels were made but it was also halted."
Suneel further revealed that though Akki did not have that hold at the box office, "There was something special about him." He further said, "I signed Akshay and I told him that work will only happen on my terms.” Suneel locked Karisma Kapoor opposite Akshay for the project but had to be upfront with her about him being the male lead. "I told Karisma that there will be two problems. One is that I won’t be able to pay you as much money as you get from others. And the second thing is that Akshay is the hero. She said no problem, your company is our company. Her mom Babita also said that we would love to keep working with you," Suneel recalled.
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Suneel further explained that during that time, Akshay’s career was in a “bad condition” with “no distributor wanting to touch his film.” Despite the lack of support, Suneel trusted with Akshay’s potential and decided to put at stake for him.
After another box office disappointment, Suneel remembered a moment when Akshay confided in him about a hurtful experience with a producer. “Akshay came to me and he almost had tears in his eyes. He told me that he had asked another producer why they hadn’t put up a banner for his film and they told him ‘tumhari aukkaat nahi hai ki tumhari film ka banner lagaya jaaye.’ I got nervous looking at his nervous face. And then, I got the biggest banner in Juhu with just Akshay’s face on it,” Suneel stated, adding, “The man who was a liability for everyone, I knew he would be my asset.” As a result, Jaanwar became a superhit, and it ran for 100 days in Bihar. The movie also starred Shilpa Shetty with Kumar.
Also read: This Khan once had no money for movie ticket, then became bigger than SRK, Salman, Aamir; his film earned $1.6 billion
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