I am dying to play a negative role: Akshay Kumar

His debut production venture Oh My God is up for release and actor Akshay Kumar is going out on a limb to see that it’s perfect.

His dedication was evident on the day we caught up with him at his office in the afternoon. Dressed in a green track suit, the actor looked a wee bit tired but that didn’t dim his enthusiasm in talking about the film. The fatigue was dismissed with having been awake till 3am and a power nap later! “I was working till late on the film, but that’s part of the job. You have to work hard and be with the movie till the day it hits the theatre,” he reasoned.

And yet, the actor had refrained from promoting his last release Joker. “That was for personal reasons,” says Akshay who returns to comedy with OMG. “I am more of a producer and enter the film (as God) only at the point of interval. There’s a man who doesn’t believe in God and files a case against Him. It’s a funny conflict between the two of us,” he explains.

Playing God has transformed him in certain aspects. For one he has given up non-vegetarian food and secondly, his perception towards the Almighty has changed. “Earlier I used to spend lakhs of rupees on flying my family to temples but now I feel if God is everywhere why should I pay to worship? Instead, I can donate the same amount (spent on travelling) to people who are needy and feel ten times closer to God,” says Akshay, who believes he has got more than he deserves in his life. “If I ever complain, I would be ungrateful. For a man who came from nowhere and got so many things in life... anybody would love to be in my shoes,” he smiles.

Interestingly, after playing God, Akshay now wants to essay a completely negative character — a devil incarnate, if you please! “I had done a negative role in Ajnabee long back, but never after that. I am dying to play one again,” says Akshay, whose line-up of films include the sequel to Once Upon a Time In Mumbai, Special Chhabis, Khiladi 786, a Telugu remake with director Murgadoss and the Tamil remake of Pokkiri Raja. Ask him about the trend of remakes and films based in the eighties and he waves it off saying, “People just want to watch a good film. For instance Barfi! doesn’t fit in either category and is doing extremely well,” he observes.

Even his next venture as a producer is a Marathi film with a difference. “It’s a prestigious film with a message. I think I have a lot to contribute to the society and my banner will be making films keeping that in mind,” he lets on.