Akshay Kumar reveals there’s infighting within Bollywood, knows who spread false rumours about his work ethic: ‘They celebrate my failures’

Actor Akshay Kumar vented against film industry politics, and said that certain people celebrate his failures. Akshay has had a rough time at the box office in recent years, with only two clean hits from over 10 releases. He said that he knows exactly who started the rumours around him being under-committed to his films, as if that is the reason why his films have flopped. He said that this has changed the perception about him among the public, and expressed his disgust at his fellow industry members bad-mouthing each other among themselves.

Chatting with Baradwaj Rangan on Galatta Plus, Akshay said that he strictly works eight-hour shifts because he believes in devoting the necessary time to recovery and his personal life. “I don’t want to get into the details of who started this (wrong perception), because it starts from somewhere. It starts from somebody who doesn’t like you. That’s how it starts, they pick one or two things… Now remember what they used to say earlier? They used to say, ‘Akshay’s films don’t take long; he comes on time and leaves on time’. I used to do 17 films at a time, and they used to be released within eight months; that’s how efficient I was considered… But now, when films don’t work, they say that I don’t devote enough time.”

Also read – Akshay Kumar recalls Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘kaam karte rehna’ advice amid criticism for BMCM failure: ‘Gave 80 days to that film, kya ukhaad liya?’

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Akshay said that he gives directors exactly what they ask for, and that he cannot impose himself on them when he isn’t required. The actor has had a string of flops in recent years, with the latest being the big-budget bomb Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. “People love seeing when my films don’t work. People love seeing it, they’re happy. I’ve seen it myself…” Akshay said that he believes in hard work and divine power, and finds industry politics reprehensible. “Till today, in 33-34 years, I have never spoken ill of anyone. I always feel that you have no right to take anybody’s name and put the person down.”

He continued, “I would like to give this advice to people. Don’t put others down. I see it in politics, I see it in my own industry. Ek hero dusre hero ko gaali deta hai, director usko gaali deta hai, producer uss hero ko gaali deta hai (everybody is calling each other names). I just fail to understand why you all are abusing each other. There is so much of energy that is just going waste.”

In the same interview, Akshay recalled Amitabh Bachchan’s advice to him, and said that he only wants to focus on working hard. The actor can currently be seen in the film Sarfira, which was released to mixed reviews on Friday.