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Suneel Darshan recalls producers calling Akshay Kumar ‘kachra’, putting Dhadkan, Hera Pheri on hold: ‘He was in tears…’

In a recent interview, filmmaker Suneel Darshan spoke about his bond with Akshay Kumar and reflected on the dull phase of his career.

Suneel Darshan on his bond with Akshay Kumar

Filmmaker Suneel Darshan on his bond with actor Akshay Kumar. (Photos: Akshay Kumar/ Instagram)

Akshay Kumar is one of the most bankable actors in the industry today; however, there was a phase early in his career when he was not a favourite among film producers. In a recent conversation with Bollywood Thikana, director Suneel Darshan revealed that during a period of consecutive flops, producers turned him down, some even going as far as to call him kachra (garbage).

Recalling the time from the Jaanwar shoot when Akshay and Suneel grew closer, the director said, “During Jaanwar, Akshay had grown very close to me. He had a phase where he was rejected and ridiculed. Big filmmakers of today held on to a opinion that time that Akshay was kachra or rubbish. He was not looked up to. That time Dhadkan was put on hold, Hera Pheri had gotten shelved, and I presume none of his films were doing well. So the films were not moving forward.”

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A post shared by Suneel Darshan (@suneeldarshan)

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Suneel Darshan also recalled a time when Akshay Kumar was in tears after a producer misbehaved with him. He said, “There was a film that came before us. One day, Akshay came to my office, and he was very upset. He was in tears and confessed that he went to the producer, the film was supposed to release on Friday, and not a single poster was up for it. The producer spoke very rudely to him and said heartbreaking things. That time, Rahul Nanda was our designer. I told him to book the most expensive site on Juhu circle and put up Jaanwar’s hoarding with only Akshay on it. Our film was close to release, and we didn’t want Akshay’s morale to break because that would affect me. We did that. Jaanwar released, and initially in Mumbai, its response was lukewarm, but it took a phenomenal start in UP, and in Bihar, it was an all-time hit. Jaanwar gave a huge comeback to Akshay.”

Today, Akshay Kumar is one of the busiest superstars in Bollywood. On the work front, Akshay has Welcome to the Jungle, Hera Pheri 3, Bhoot Bangla, and Haiwaan in the pipeline.

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