Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, whose latest film Mission Raniganj has hit the theatres yesterday, has expressed his admiration for Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, which has crossed Rs 1000 crore at the box office and is still going strong.
Akshay Kumar On Jawan’s success
Akshay Kumar was asked whether he was motivated when his contemporary Shah Rukh Khan delivered two back-to-back blockbusters in the form of Pathaan and Jawan.
Akshay Kumar nodded and said, “Commercial success is important as we have to make other films. It also depends on what kind of commercial success we get. For example, Mission Raniganj is made in a certain budget. And I won’t call it a typical commercial film. It is not a Jawan or a Rowdy Rathore. It has a niche audience.”
Akshay Kumar was prodded whether he had had a chance to watch recent releases like Jawan and whether he liked it. Akshay Kumar happily answered, “Yes, I see all the films. Jawan was very good. It had a different genre. The best part is Rs. 500 aur Rs. 600 crore ka business ho raha hai. Bahut badhiya hai. Taaliyaan bajao!”
Akshay Kumar on new 1000-crore benchmark for films
Akshay said that he was very happy to see the success of Jawan and other recent films like Gadar 2 and OMG 2, which have revived the industry after the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that he hoped that Bollywood would soon make films that would compete with Hollywood in terms of revenue and quality.
“I hope the industry gives more and more hits. I was very happy when Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan did such a good business. There are many other films, like Gadar 2, OMG 2, which also did well. So it’s very good for the industry. Our industry went through a very bad patch because of Covid-19 times. Now things are moving and it’s a great thing that Rs 1000 crore is a benchmark,” he said.
He also added that he wished that Bollywood would produce films that would earn Rs 2000-3000 crore like Hollywood, and praised the screenplay and script of Indian films. He said that Mission Raniganj, which is based on the life of Jaswant Singh Gill, the hero of the Raniganj coalfield rescue operation in 1989, was not a typical commercial film, but had a niche audience. He gave credit to director Tinu Desai for getting rave reviews for the film.
(Also read: EXCLUSIVE: Mission Raniganj Box Office: Akshay Kumar’s Film Bombs With Disastrous Numbers On Its Opening Day)
Akshay continued, “Nevertheless, I hope the film does very well. Aisi filmon ka business bada nahin hota toh kya nahin banaye? Somebody will have to make it. I can do many commercial films like Welcome, Hera Pheri, Rowdy Rathore etc. The business of these films is going to be much different. But these are high-content films which are realistic to the core. Hence, they are made in a certain way. It’s all about keeping a balance.”
Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan’s Twitter exchange
Akshay also had a friendly Twitter exchange with Shah Rukh Khan when Akshay congratulated Shah Rukh for the “massive success” of Jawan and called him “Jawan Pathaan”. Shah Rukh replied by saying that it was because of Akshay’s wishes for everyone and wished him all the best and good health.
They both last shared screen space since Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997. While Akshay has several upcoming projects like Bade Miyan Chote Miya, Sky Force; Shah Rukh will be seen next in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki.
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