Actor Akshay Kumar, who’s hit the jackpot at the BO with his latest big screen outing, Housefull 2 is all smiles at his entry back in the hit circuit. But the actor insists that it’s not the figures alone that make him happy. “I don’t care much about where the film takes me or my ratings, I’m just happy that I could make audience laugh all the way from theatre to home and the producers all the way to the bank,” says Akshay. However, what has the star more excited about this one is that rarely does a sequel work better than the original like it has here.
Admitting that sequels are risky business, he says that some of his own sequels have been almost nothing compared to the originals, but this one has been an exception. “Sequels and prequels can many times equal to a good penny so very badly spent, not to mention a good name so sadly ruined. Housefull was a huge success, until you watched the sequel, that’s when you realise that this was made by a director who never got complacent, and it’s amazing to see it even outdo the original.
Now we are already working to make a third one,” adds Akshay.
At a time when everyone’s been talking about their films crossing the 100-crore mark, does it really change equations here? Akshay believes it does. “It changes many things, but soon no doubt it will be 200 crore everyone will be talking about,” he says, adding that if you want to be signed for the next two years your movie really needs to cross 100 crore. “If you want to act out of passion, then it’s your performance that matters. If you just want to make money then you have to be bankable. If you want to be a ‘star’ you have to practically sell your soul every minute of every day, (ask any star nowadays). If you want blockbusters you need to do films that maybe your industry will not love you for, but the audience will. It depends on what makes you happy!” he quips.
The comedy did see the actor get back to action, but post this film is when the actor will completely shift gears to hardcore action. Was son Aarav one of the reasons for lying low on the action front? “When he was born I swore to my wife (Twinkle) I would think twice before doing any stunt or action film offered to me.
When you have a child who fully depends on you, you have no right to abuse that gift for a moment of self-satisfaction. There were times I walked away from a film if I thought he wouldn’t like it or if it would make him worry every day I was shooting for it,” reveals Akshay, adding that it’s different now. “Now that my son has grown and is as crazy about martial arts and Parkour as I am, he’s much more comfortable with me doing stunts now than he was when he was younger. So I’m back now,” adds the star.
