Ahmed Khan accepts ‘teleprompter actor’ Akshay Kumar reads his dialogues, doesn’t memorise lines: ‘Many actors do this’

‘Teleprompter actor’—a term recently associated with Akshay Kumar—started trending after a clip from his film Sarfira surfaced, allegedly showing him reading dialogues from a teleprompter. Now, choreographer and filmmaker Ahmed Khan has confirmed these claims. The Baaghi 2 director admitted that while Akshay does rely on a teleprompter for his dialogues, he compensates by bringing a lot of physical energy to the scene and adding humorous lines.

Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, Ahmed said, “Many actors do this. Everyone has their own method. What Akshay does is also a talent. He does so many things physically. While many actors can remember dialogues, but do not give much from their side physically, but Akshay tries to give a lot of things from his side to the film. He adds dialogues like ‘Behen dar gayi’, ‘Chal-Chal Baap ko mat sikha’.Ye sab Akshay Kumar dalta hai. Akshay says, ‘I am giving so much, I am  not in school that he will memorize the dialogues.’ That is why he reads and speaks but as an actor he also adds interesting things from his side in the film.”

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Earlier, an Instagram user who identifies as a VFX artist and video creator shared a clip from Sarfira, highlighting multiple instances where Akshay’s eye movements appear to follow lines from a teleprompter. In one scene, the video editor pointed out how the actor repeatedly looks to the side, allegedly reading his dialogues rather than engaging with his co-actors. In another emotional sequence, instead of delivering the lines with intensity, Akshay seems to overlook the person in front of him to follow the script.

 

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Sarfira failed at the box office, adding to the string of underperforming films in Akshay’s recent career. His last release, Sky Force, fared moderately well but faced accusations of inflated box office numbers. Up next, Akshay is set to appear in Jolly LLB 3, Housefull 5, Bhooth Bangla, Welcome to the Jungle, and Hera Pheri 3.