EXCLUSIVE: Mukesh Khanna comments on Akshay Kumar back-to-back box office failures; feels, “He should change his selection of stories”

During an exclusive chat with Bollywood Bubble’s Let’s Talk, actor Mukesh Khanna spoke about Akshay Kumar and his back-to-back box office failures. In our interview, he said that Akshay needs to change his way of selecting movies as it is not working with the masses. Khanna feels Kumar should go back to the time when he was doing action and comedy movies and then he can be successful.

Mukesh Khanna talks about Akshay Kumar’s flop movies

“I said, ‘Look, Akshay, you’re successful now because you’re selecting good subjects. Earlier, you would just take whatever came your way—sometimes dancing, sometimes something else, but the subject was nothing special. That’s why your films didn’t work back then,‘” he told us. Khanna further continued, “I said, ‘Now your films are working because you’re choosing stories like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, or this rescue operation story.’ He responded, ‘Mukesh, if you have a subject, give it to me.’ That’s when I realised that he had become more conscious about his choices. But later, I saw that some of his films flopped. I don’t know who is to blame, but despite what I said about his selection, I had to tell him that maybe he was choosing the wrong films. His image is that of a fighter. This is a man who has jumped from the tenth floor and has done real stunts from the sixth floor.“

Mukesh Khanna feels Akshay needs to change his selection of movie

The Mahabharata actor added, “But I also told him that now he should choose subjects where he stands firm, like playing the role of a husband in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha or in the rescue operation film. I heard that the film did well, but it didn’t have any action, which doesn’t suit Akshay. I’ve told him clearly that maybe he should do films like Khiladi or International Khiladi—those are real roles for him. I don’t know if he saw my video or not, and I didn’t get any response, but I heard that nowadays he’s being defensive. In a video, I saw someone comment, ‘If you do four or five films a year, this is bound to happen’. To that, he responded, ‘If I finish one film in four months, what should I do afterwards? Come to your house?’ That’s what he said, and I read it.

“So, he is right in a way because he defended himself by saying that he saves the producer’s money and has perfect timing, finishing the work quickly. But I still feel that he should change his selection of stories, and he will be a superhit again because people love him as a fighter. Even in Hera Pheri, he did comedy to some extent, but my connection with him isn’t strong anymore. In fact, I’ve spoken against him regarding Laxmii, and I’ve criticized him in other instances too, like saying he shouldn’t do gutka ads.“

Watch the full interview here

Also read: Akshay Kumar comments on Sarfira, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan box office failures; says, “Kaam karte rahunga, till they have to shoot me down”