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If there’s anything Bollywood star Akshay Kumar gets trolled for as much as his recent movie choices, it’s his infamous interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 2019 general elections. During the conversation, the actor asked Modi how he likes to eat mangoes, which went viral on social media and attracted immense trolling.
Now, Akshay has recreated the moment, this time with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wherein he asked the latter a similarly silly question in jest. During the inaugural ceremony of FCCI Frames 2025, the two engaged in a light-hearted interaction, much to the delight of attendees. “Sir, maine unse (Modi) ek question kiya tha ke ‘aap aam kaise khante hain?’ Toh logun ne mazak udaya tha. Lekin sir main nahi sudhrunga (Sir, I had asked the PM how he eats mangoes, and people made fun of me. But sir, I won’t change).”
Mentioning that Nagpur is very famous for oranges, Akshay asked Fadnavis, “Sir, aapko oranges achche lagte hain (Do you like oranges?)” When the Chief Minister replied with a yes, the actor further asked whether he would like to have them whole or as juice. “I will teach you another method… You just cut the orange in half without peeling it, sprinkle some salt, and eat it like a mango,” he explained, mentioning that only the OGs from Nagpur know this style.
When asked if there was any film that inspired him in his journey as a politician, Fadnavis named S Shankar’s Nayak: The Real Hero (2001), a remake of the director’s 1999 Tamil political actioner Mudhalvan. “Films jo humko influence karti hai not as a leader, but it influences, jo humari samvedna hoti, jo ek human feeling hota hai humara usko films ek prakaar se prabhaveet karti hai. Toh aise kayi filmon ne mujhe prabhaveet kiya hai. Lekin jaha tak politics ki baat karenge, ek film hai jiska mera zikr karna chahunga. Uss film ne mujhe prabhaveet toh kiya, lekin mere liye itni samasyaein bhi badhai, aur woh film hai Nayak (Films influence me, not as a leader, but they influence our sensibilities, our human feelings, in a certain way. So, there are many films that have influenced me. But as far as politics is concerned, there’s one film I’d like to mention. The film that not only influenced me but also created so many problems for me is Nayak.)”
Recalling how the film showed the protagonist, played by Anil Kapoor, becoming CM for a day and bringing about so many positive changes in the state, he said, “Toh mein kahi bhi jata hoon, log mujhe kehte hai, ‘Nayak jaisa kaam karo. Dekho ek din mein kitna unhone kar diya… Kaise ek din mein unhone duniya badal di.’ Ek din maine Anil Kapoor-ji milgaya aur maine poocha, ‘Kyu banai bhai Nayak? Aap Nayak aur hum nalayak? Aisa logon ko lagne lag gaya. Ek din mein aapne kaise itne cheezin kardi uske andar?’ Ek benchmark set karne ka kaam usne kiya hai (So wherever I go, people tell me, ‘Do work like Nayak. Look how much he did in one day… How he changed the world in one day.’ Once, I met Anil Kapoor-ji and I asked him, ‘Why did you make Nayak? You are Nayak and we are incompetent? That’s what people feel. How did you do so many things in one day in that film?’ It set a benchmark.)”
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