Ati Sheetal Billi / Real Cool Cat. Review on Akshay Kumar

Kya bacche ki jaan lega kya?

With these profound words, Akshay Kumar became one of my favourite actors. This was in one of his khiladi movies in which he was cast opposite juhi chawla. The movie was pure bakwaas and I don’t remember much of it, except that I was laughing whenever akshay came on screen. Prior to this, I loved to hate the guy. He epitomised the good-looking DUH. Everything he did was simply annoying and stupid. For example in the movie “Main Khiladi tu Anaadi”, Saif carried the film with his perfect comic timing while Akshay simply grated on my nerves. I found his voice especially distracting. It was completely unbecoming of the macho image he sought to project.

No one else seemed to agree with me however. My cousins were all huge fans of his martial-arts-pro status and advised me instead to notice how perfectly he delivered his round-horse kicks (or whatever they are called).

Then, like I said, I happened to watch this movie of his with Juhi and I thought “ wow, he can surely make you laugh”. Later, Hera Pheri was the film which proved beyond a doubt that Akshay was more than a hunky dude. Even in the emotionally charged films he improved dramatically. I have stopped noticing his defective voice – because despite it’s bad quality, he inflects it to emote perfectly. He is one of the few actors who does not fade into oblivion while doing a scene with Amitabh Bachan. Their casting as Father-son works very well especially.

I felt like writing this revu after seeing the film “deewane hue paagal” – a movie that will meet with your approval only because of Akki baba’s presence. Everyone else is seriously mediocre. But thanks to Akshay, you find yourself laughing in this film. His comic timing is something else! Clearly he enjoys playing the devilishly wicked playboy who has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to get the girl. While critics may crib that he has played the role umpteen times already, the fact is that he can still get you to laugh as hard.

Naseer once said that he envied Akshay his physical presence. For an actor, it is a huge boon to be able to use his body (and face) to best advantage. And Akki has sensibly capitalised on this. At 40 + he is lithe enough to do stunts that would daze a much younger person. His looks, which account for his enormous female fan-following, actually seem to have improved (if that is possible). He looks more suave and dashing today than ever before. Clearly he has worked hard at it. His love for martial arts and Yoga is well known. That accounts for a physique that goes beyond the “beefy”.

Some of his more memorables films would include:

Mr. And Mrs Khiladi (I think that was the name of the Juhi starrer) : his goofball act is wonderful.

Dhadkan : Pretty OTT film as far as emotion is concerned but Akshay’s performance as a gentle “hero” was pleasant.

Hera Pheri : Probably his best one till date. Simply amazing comic timing.

Waqt and Ek Rishta : Loved the pairing with Amitabh – they really complement each other.

Khakee : The reluctant-good-guy act was so good, he made Ash look disgustingly heartless. He got to be funny and tough. Although he was the amoral cynic here, he ended up being a more convincing character – someone whose reluctance to get idealistic was perfectly understandable and perhaps, justified. Walked away with a lot of sympathy from the audience. Again, an important role in his career.

Ajnabee: A pretty decent thriller, in which he plays the “villain” with aplomb.

Mujhse Shaadi Karogi : The funny-man again.

Those are the ones that come to mind now.

While Saif’s humour has a western sensibility, Akshay has perfected a punju-bambaiya brand of his own. Instead of being vulnerable, he is chaalu and insensitive. His good looks and wide smile ultimately reveal a very basic sort of character – someone the aam junta could empathise with. And from here he generates enough cackles to keep the box office happy.

However, I was disappointed to see that Akshay still agrees to do sleaze – as he did in a bizarre song in deewaane hue pagal. It is unbecoming at this stage in his career and I do not think he needs to kowtow to “market demands” – i.e, if that is why he is still doing it.

Here’s hoping he gets to showcase more of his increasing repertoire of talents in his coming films.