Decoding Akshay Kumar’s success mantra: Jolly LLB 2 actor has cracked the hit formula in Bollywood

WATCH VIDEO | Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna’s Valentine’s Day Party

Akshay’s latest film Jolly LLB 2 might not be the first release of 2017, but it is safe to call it the first hit, despite the January films Raees and Kaabil already crossing the Rs 100-crore mark. To put it straight, this is because, in terms of content and performance, Akshay’s Jolly avatar has impressed a larger section of audience and critics alike. But, still if you want to go by numbers, then here is the second reason – Jolly LLB 2 was made at a humble budget, and hence its profit ratio is much better than the other two. So calling Jolly, 2017’s big hit in every sense of the term, won’t be wrong.

As Jolly LLB 2 crosses Rs 100 crore, it becomes the seventh film of Akshay Kumar to get an entry into the elite club, equalling Shah Rukh Khan’s tally. Here are all the film of Akshay which found their way to the club — Rowdy Rathore (Rs 133. 35 cr), Rustom (Rs 128 crore), Airlift (Rs 127. 80 cr), Holiday (Rs 112.5 cr), Housefull 3 (Rs 109. 13 cr) and Housefull 2 (Rs 106 cr).

WATCH VIDEO | Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu on Naam Shabana, Action And More

So, what exactly makes Jolly LLB 2, or for that matter, all the Akshay Kumar films that he has been delivering of late, different from the mainstream releases? We decode Akshay Kumar’s success formula for you…

Also read | Akshay Kumar’s calendar break-up is just like your 9 to 5 job. Read how he completes four films every year

Akshay Kumar’s production OMG starred Paresh Rawal and was a satirical take on the commercialisation of religion in India.

Content-driven cinema

Akshay, who once appeared in films like Desi Boyz, Tees Maar Khan and De Dana Dan, has suddenly changed his action plan. After 2010, he began doing films like OMG, Special 26, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara, Baby, Airlift and Rustom, all varied plots, all varied performances. While some are based on real-life incidents, others are period dramas. Yes, for Akshay, the film’s plot is the hero, more than his own part.

Also read | I’ve made enough money, a good script is more important: Akshay Kumar

A still from Jolly LLB 2, where Akshay Kumar played a lawyer from Lucknow.

Middle-class characters

When Jolly LLB 2’s poster released, we saw Akshay donning a lawyer’s look, riding a Bajaj scooter and sporting a teeka on his forehead. Now, who else can you imagine doing that, with his signature smile sneaking through that moustache? That’s Akshay’s preference to play a middle-class man with whom janta can relate. This makes his characters a sure-shot winner not just among the multiplex audience who like to see this side of an aam aadmi, but also to the majority who actually live such a humble life. And of late, it looks like his moustache has become his lucky charm and hence, a staple of all the characters he plays. Of course, it suits him too!

Akshay Kumar’s 2016 film Airlift was based on the real-life incident of the evacuation of Indians in Kuwait during the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

Small town connect

And his middle-class characters shine brighter when they come from the interiors of India. For people in metropolitan cities aren’t aware of the little nuances of small-town life. So if Akshay’s character is riding a scooter, it is better if he also feels the bumps on a broken road of a small town. Only then will his character get a life. He is surely the new age family man, and we not just mean in real, but also in terms of his onscreen image.

Akshay Kumar film Special 26 also starred Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee, Jimmy Shergill and Kajal Agarwal.

Strong supporting characters

There was a time when it was said that Akshay has a stronghold on the editing table, and gets the part of other actors chopped if they overshadow him. But, looks like times have changed. All of Akshay’s movies have several strong supporting characters with equally powerful performances. Be it Saurabh Shukla who had the best one-liners in Jolly LLB 2, or Anupam Kher in Baby and Special 26, or even Nimrat Kaur in Airlift, everyone brought their A-game to the table and only added to the success of the film.

Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha deals with the sanitation problem in the interiors of India.

Socially relevant plot

Akshay also prefers to keep some message in his films intact. His upcoming Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is about PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’. It is a satirical comedy based on the unhygienic conditions in the rural India. Jolly LLB 2 was a clarion call to the Indian Judiciary. It might have left some sections of our legal fraternity upset, but if you chose a bold and socially relevant subject, there ought to be some ripple effects, after all.

Akshay Kumar makes a special appearance in his co-production Naam Shabana, starring Taapsee Pannu.

Investing money in unique stories

Akshay Kumar seems not to be bothered about what his contemporaries are doing. While other actors who’ve turned producers are vying for scripts that have a certain target audience, Akshay’s banner Hari Om Entertainment picks as unique subjects as the actor. OMG, Airlift and Rustom are among them. His upcoming productions are Naam Shabana and PadMan. And all of these have only one target – the masses.

Also read | Jolly LLB 2: Film is a hit, owes a lot to Akshay Kumar’s reinvention from a comedy star to an all-rounder

Akshay has a lot of variety in store in 2017. Other films from the actor this year include the biggie 2.0, where he plays the main villain opposite Rajinikanth, a first for the actor. Then, there is PadMan which is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who is famously known as the India’s ‘Menstruation Man.’ He is even doing Crack and a cameo in Naam Shabana. He has another film tentatively titled Gold in his kitty. The year 2017 surely looks like Akshay Kumar’s year. But wait, even 2016 was one, considering all his three releases were hits, and so was 2015!