Anees Bazmee on Akshay Kumar’s box office slump: ‘He chose wrong people who don’t do justice to his talent’

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee talks about working with actor Akshay Kumar, who is currently going through a tough phase in his career with back-to-back flops.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | April 25, 2024 07:05 PM IST

3 min read

Akshay Kumar and Anees Bazmee have collaborated on Welcome (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008) and Thank You (2011). (Photo: Anees Bazmee/Instagram)

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee recently opened up on the slump actor Akshay Kumar is going through, with his last few films, including his recent release Bade Miyan Chote Miyan with Tiger Shroff, failing to perform at the box office. Anees has worked with Akshay on hits like Welcome (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008) and Thank You (2011). Calling Akshay a “complete actor,” Anees said that while no one knows why his films are flopping, he feels Akshay could be working with people who can’t justify his talent as an actor.

Talking to Siddharth Kannan about Akshay’s box office slump, Anees said, “He is a star. Many of these stars have had good times and bad times. It happens. Sometimes their films don’t work, then two films will work and it goes on. He is such a beautiful person. He can dance, do action, he does fantastic comedy, he can cry, he is a complete actor. There can be times when he chose the wrong script, or the wrong people to work with who don’t do justice to his talent. I don’t know the exact reason.”

Anees Bazmee also shared that he and Akshay Kumar share a long-standing friendship and that he has learned how to be disciplined while working with the actor. He said, “I recently met him. I have spent a very beautiful time in my life with him when we collaborated on Welcome, Singh Is Kinng, Thank You. It was so much fun working with him because he is so punctual. He comes for a 7 am shoot at sharp 7. This is something very rare for us, but it’s a different thing. We’ve also become disciplined working with him.”

Also read | Akshay Kumar is reminded of his ‘16 consecutive flops’ as he addresses recent duds: ‘I won’t give up’

Talking about their successful collaborations and how he is waiting for Akshay to bounce back, the filmmaker said, “We made very beautiful films together and they were very successful as well. I share a special relationship with him, but there are times that we haven’t met for a year. But when we finally meet, it feels like we met only yesterday. When I recently suffered a leg injury, he met me. He didn’t say much, but the way he looked at my injury and spoke to me, I could feel how concerned he was. That’s the kind of friendship we share. He told me to continue physiotherapy and said, ‘Don’t think you are fine, because I have had many injuries myself while doing action. I have gotten my body broken a lot, I have felt the pain.’ So he requested me to get proper treatment and heal. He was properly worried.”

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