GROUND ZERO
WHEN THE BELL TOLLED FOR AKSHAY
It is an amazing turnaround in fortunes. In fact, it can be described
as stunning. Akshay Kumar practically defied gravity for two years
notching up hit after hit. Suddenly he was the Golden Boy, a man who
could do no wrong at the box office (B.O). Anything and everything
that he touched turned to gold almost instantaneously. Since he was
delivering in spades, he not only hiked his price, but
started charging commission on box office profits. It was a golden run
and Akshay was a mega star giving B Town gangbuster returns. Yet, he
wasn't given the necessary recognition as the new superstar, though
trade did accept his money making ability at the B.O in no uncertain
terms. Charging exorbitant and unheard sums of Rs 20 crore per film,
Akshay had arrived. Or had he? In 2008, Akshay was Mr hit factory
personified - Hey Babyy, Namaste London, Bhool Bhulayian and Welcome.
Then talk surfaced that for a Venus project presumably De Dana Dan,
Akshay was charging Rs 22 crore plus a sizeable share of the profits.
These eye popping sums of money and his hit machine run of 2007 was
compared to his father in law Rajesh Khanna and subsequently Amitabh
Bachchan's phenomenal run at the box office in the early and mid
1970s. Hit guaranteed was what trade began to describe Akshay as. His
goofy act was pulling in people - the classes and the masses
- everyone was applauding. Almost overnight he was being described as
bigger than Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan. Producers were happy since
they were getting serious returns on their investments. And unlike SRK
and Aamir Khan, he was delivering much more than one film every year.
In 2009 alone, six of his films have been released, each a bigger dud
than the other leading to overexposure.
After the great run in 2007, Akshay made his first mistake. Returning
to the Yashraj fold for the first time since 1997 when he made a
special appearance in
commercial blockbuster Dil Toh Pagal Hai, he agreed to act in a
complete no brainer - Tashan. It sank without a trace and the critics
were out with their knives. It made a huge impact on Akshay himself
for he had done a movie which went against the Akshay grain. It was at
complete odds with his recent persona. Even before he delivered all
the big hits in 2007, Akshay had specialised in his own brand of
comedy - Bhagam Bhagg, Phir Hera Pheri, Garam Masala, the delightful
Champu in Jaan e Maan (though the movie flopped miserably), Deewane
Huye Pagal, Mujshe Shaadi Karogi and Hera Pheri. Though Akshay
delievered in serious roles as well in Andaaz, Ankhen, Aitraaz,
Dhadkan, Khakee, Ajnabee, Waqt et al; he realised very quickly that he
was best accepted in goofy roles. His
role as Raju in the seminal Hera Pheri must have compelled him to
adopt this tack in his cinema. And it worked for him. Tashan was
neither here nor there, it was nothing but a typical old style B Town
pot boiler and it plummeted. So did his stock on the BSE - Bollywood
Stock Exchange.
Yeah, but stars can also fail if the scripting and storyline aren't up
to scratch. Akshay said as much at an awards function where he said in
a lighter vein - meri galti nahin, picture achchi thi, main hi kharab
tha - referring to Tashan. Akshay with his antics brought joy, mirth and
merriment to the audience and this worked like clockwork. Though
critics panned Tashan and the Emperor's new clothes were stripped off
in a hurry, Akshay was back soon after with Singh is Kinng. It was
vintage Akshay as he cavorted around Australia as Happy Singh. His hit
pairing with Katrina Kaif had delivered a kayo punch at the B O all
over again. Yes, Akshay was back and seen pretty much as infallible.
The critics had eaten crow and Akshay was preening like a peacock once
again. But Tashan should have been a warning for Akshay. Bachchan
Pande was rejected by the audience, but Akshay refused to wake up and
smell the coffee. Though Singh made a colossal Rs 120 crore, 2008 was
a year best remembered for the SRK vs Ak rivalry. If Rab Ne Bana Di
Jodi was a blockbuster, Ghajini was a monster hit hitherto not seen in
the Indian box office. Meanwhile Akshay was planning his 2009
meticulously. A mix of comedy, a return to action and a serious
avatar awaited audiences this year.
Ambition is good, but over ambition is dangerous. More so when you
start believing that you can walk on water. The box office doesn't
tolerate fools, nor does it tolerate egos. Take SRK for instance.
Every time he has tried his hand at buffonery - Badshah, Duplicate,
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, the audinece has given him a resounding
thumbs down. Whenever he has stuck to the knitting, a combination of
emotion and romance, he has hit paydirt. So with Akshay, who has got
typecast as a goofy sort of guy who is loved for his straight faced
comedy. One can always turn around and ask then why is it that De Dana
Dan didn't work. Well for starters you cannot keep your hero locked up
for half the movie and have a 100 charcters running around like
madmen. But let us go back to the beginning of 2009 when Akshay's
first big release - Chandini Chowk to China was released. It was a
turkey, a dead loss. I saw the movie and the first thing that crossed
my mind was how could Akshay do such rubbish, particularly after doing
a series of winners. Mail Today did a double spread recently on
Akshay's waning charm at the B.O. The kicker read like this - His new
film De Dana Dan saw disappointing initials last week and has been
steadily losing ground. This comes after Akshay recorded five straight
duds over the past 12 months. Insanely high fees, his love for lavish
shoots and his penchant for silly projects have worked against the
superstar. How true.
Chandini Chowk was a wake call which Akshay didn't pay heed to. Nagesh
Kuknoor's Tasveer 8 x 10, Jumbo, the crazily hyped Blue, the utterly
ridiculous Kambakht Ishq followed. Each one failing to make its tryst
with the box office. Akshay and B Town were suddenly both in disarray.
Akshay defended the crude Kambakht Ishq replete with offensive gaalis,
but the writing was on the wall. Only Akshay was not prepared to see
it. Blinded by his superstardom and a long line of hits, he made
mistakes galore in 2009. How did B Town's most saleable and bankable
star collapse in such a heap? These movies have cost B Town Rs 400
crore. Akshay worked because he dumbed down to reach the LCM.
Strangely this brand of craziness worked with LCM as also the classes.
There was a patented formula. As Mail Today wrote, "It has no
substance. The audience is clever nowadays...Advertising guru Prahlad
Kakkar added, "Stars like Akshay forget that they are merely audience
pullers. They cannot run a bad film. Akshay can draw audiences just
because he is popular but his stardom cannot convert bad scripts into
sensible ones."
During the time that he ruled the box office, Akshay was at pains to
explain that he was a self made star who didn't belong to any camp.
Moreover, he reiterated that he was a star despite the camps. Mail
Today also quoted director Ravi Chopra as saying, "Akshay needs to
redefine himself with a fresh attitude towards acting and choosing
films. He has proved himself already as a saleable superstar but he
must take up the challenge to experiment in the real sense. Else the
filmworld is very ruthless and he will soon be out of work. I am sure
he is learning his lessons now." I doubt very much. The Khiladi has a
big ego and egos often trip people in their quest for greater glory.
Akshay was known to edit his fellow actors's roles, he was known to
interfere in the scripting and direction of his films. He has to grow
out of the goofy, nerdball character. That has brought him this far,
he now has to seek the next level and grow out of the rehash and
amalgam of Welcome and Singh is Kinng type of cinema. Khatron Ke
Khiladi on Colors proved that his popularity is intact. He has to rise
above the ordinariness and shallowness that he has trapped himself in.
Straitjacketed as Mr Nerdball, he now needs to climb out of it to show
that he has the mettle to survive in a heartless B Town. Fridays are
cruel in B Town. For all of 2009, Akshay has learnt that it is all
'fall down' on Fridays. You can run in B Town, but you can't hide.
The campwallahs who he has spawned are still sticking by him - Nikhil
Advani (Chandini Chowk where even Warner Bros must have had no clue at
the sheer ferocity of the fall) helmed Patiala House, Priyadarshan's
Khatta Meetha, Vipul Shah (Namaste London) who is doing Action Replay
with him and Aishwarya and Sajid Khan (Heyy Baby) who is doing
Housefull. The only new banner that he has signed in recent times is
Farah Khan (Tees Mar Khan), but remember she too is married too
Shirish Kunder who made Jaan e Maan with Akshay. If this clutch of
films also fails, then epitaphs and obits will be written of a star
who gave Bollywood its biggest cumulative hits in 2007 and 2008.Can
Akshay rise above what Mail Today described as - Akshay starrers have
similar trappings: Crazy situations, lots of prop charcaters, chase
sequences, cheesy dialogues, innumerable slaps, foreign locales and
beautiful girls?
B Town is not against you Akshay, you are a victim of your own hype
and a casualty of your own stereotypes. He gave Bollywood close to Rs
600 crore in 2007 and 2008 and helped B Town lose Rs 400 crore in
2009. Is this end of the road for the superstar or does he have it in
him to deliver yet another screamer to shut the mouths of his
detractors? Over to 2010.
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