I love to do comedy because in real life too, I love to laugh, smile and joke: Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar is back in form, as is evident with his dual act as Sandy and Sundi in the just-released Housefull 3. It’s the actor’s zany and multi-layered performance that is getting ceetees and taalis in equal measure. Doing a slapstick comedy after a long break is a refreshing change even for the star. The actor shares that the best compliment he received was, “Laughter increases your life span. Thank you for increasing ours. I and my family laughed so much.” In his first interview post the release of the film, Akshay tells me about the trials, tribulations and triumphs behind playing the two characters. Excerpts from our conversation:

You’re getting a lot of praise for your dual personality portrayal in Housefull 3. You must be pleased.

To be honest, as an actor, this was the toughest film to do. I mean really tough. You remember the scene in the film when I have to fall down the stairs? I actually had to go through the ordeal of falling down the stairs in that way. My knees were hurt, my back was bruised, but I still had to maintain that look on my face, so the audiences could laugh.

The audiences can’t get enough of Sandy/Sundi. Kids and adults alike are laughing at their antics.

I’m happy that people have liked it, but it wasn’t easy to play. It was more complex because I had to switch from Sandy to Sundi in one shot. In the film’s end credits, if you see the bloopers, you’ll realise it. At one point, I had forgotten who I was playing — Sandy or Sundi. I just went blank. I had to ask the directors who I was at that point. If you see my performance closely, you’ll notice my nerves popping out.

How did you prepare to play a split personality?

It was always there on the script level. But you know how Sajid and Farhad are as narrators. They always come with a reference point in terms of how they want their actors to perform. They gave me the lead and then I found my own way through it. The rest was my own interpretation.

Playing Sundi must have been tougher.

A little bit. I had to practise the expressions a lot. Then I came up with the walk. The walk was never shown to me. I came up with eyebrows. Sundi is physically strong, but he is dumb. Sandy is a smart guy who doesn’t believe in violence. But Sundi loves violence and he only wants to hurt Sandy. Basically, he only wants to hurt himself. For me, that bit was difficult.

Which was your most difficult shot?

It’s the scene where I am hitting myself with the hammer. I had to hit myself, then look and then hit again. That took me a lot of time to practise. Even that Lalla Lalla Lori, Bahon Mein Aaja Gori scene was tough because it had to be done in a single shot. Most of Sundi’s scenes were done in a single shot because there was no way I could do them again and again. Physically, it was too demanding.

There is a bit of Jim Carrey in your body language when you are Sundi…

I have taken certain references. Like that part where I am raising my eyebrows, I have taken from Jack Black. He did this in King Kong. A part of the walk was from Jim Carrey of Ace Ventura. I modified that a bit. That whole part of shaking my head while switching characters is what I took straight from Farhad and Sajid.

Very rarely do actors doing comic parts get acclaim. Comment.

That’s really very sad. When you do romantic or intense roles, you end up walking away with the Best Actor awards. But it never happens when you play a comic role. Comedy is always disregarded; it’s not taken seriously even when it’s the toughest thing to do. It’s like when you go to see a circus. The ring-master standing in front of the lion will generate a lot of awe. The guys performing the acrobatics will be hailed. They’re considered heroic. But the poor joker who falls up and down, makes a fool of himself and throws water on his face just to make people laugh is never taken seriously. Jab ke a circus is named circus from the joker’s point of view. Try and understand this. You can still watch animals in a zoo. You can still watch gymnastics in an arena. But you’ll find a joker only in a circus. The circus is there because of him.

You’ve always maintained that comedy is serious business.

Yes, which is why I don’t understand why people take it for granted. A couple of days back, somebody from the media told me, ‘Sir, but slapstick comedy is not that great anyway.’ I asked him to come on the dais. I told him, ‘Just imagine there’s a banana peel fallen over here. Try and deliberately slip over it. Pretend to fall down.’ Everyone thought it was a very simple thing to do. But he couldn’t do it. See, it’s not just about falling down. It’s about falling down in such a way that makes people laugh. That’s the tough part. To make a fool of yourself just to bring a smile to others is the most difficult thing to do. I am surprised that people yet haven’t awakened to the impact comedy has had in cinema. In my case, it just changed my career, particularly after Hera Pheri. It also changed my definition as an actor. Earlier, there were only comedians in our industry. Leading actors doing comedy started with Mr Amitabh Bachchan and what a level he took it to.

Did you move away from comedy because you felt you weren’t being taken seriously?

No. Would you say Charlie Chaplin wasn’t a great actor? Would you say Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) isn’t adored and respected by millions across the world? Look at actors like Jack Black — they find ways to reinvent themselves through comedy. Even a serious actor like Al Pacino has had to turn to comedy. Robert DeNiro has done films like The Intern and Dirty Grandpa at this stage of his career. Would you ever say they are not actors? Look what Robert Downey Junior did in Tropic Thunder. Look at Jim Carrey.

What’s the best part about being a comic actor?

The best feeling about my job is when a father tells me, ‘My son, whenever he wants to eat his food, watches your films like Hera Pheri, Welcome or others. Without them on, he cannot eat food.’ Nobody has ever told me, ‘My son won’t eat his food if we won’t let him watch Sangharsh.’

All actors can’t pull off slapstick comedy.

When you go to watch a film, watch it in relation to the genre it belongs to. Slapstick comedy is a big genre in itself. A situational comedy is different. In that, you at least have a situation that evokes laughter. In slapstick, you have to evoke laughter with just your actions. That is way tougher.

In the last two years, you’ve moved on to experimenting with different roles and genres. How did it feel returning to this space with Housefull 3?
I love comedy because in real life too, I love to laugh, smile and joke around. I think I have the maximum jokes on my mobile and I share those with people. I love to watch funny videos. But when it comes to my films, I want to keep on trying something new. I don’t want to be stuck with one image. There was a time when I was just doing action films. So nobody was even considering me for a romantic film or an emotional drama. I have faced that. This is a deliberate attempt to just come out and break all the barriers. I am an all-rounder; I want to play, I want to stand at every point whether it’s a mid-on while fielding or mid-off or a slip or even be a wicket-keeper or a bowler or a batsman. I want to try my hand at everything. That’s why I took on this brilliant Tamil film Robot 2 as a villain with Rajinikanth Sir. My point is: Why can’t I be a villain? I have to be a villain and I want to be the best villain there is. The whole idea is to be the best at everything I try. And it is not about competing with anyone; I am just competing with myself. I played a villain earlier in Ajnabee. I want to better that now. Because that’s the only way I will evolve and grow as an actor.