‘MY AGE DOESN’T CONCERN ME, IT AFFECTS OTHERS’

Actor Akshay Kumar, who’ll turn 53, says that either via popularity, opportunities, hard work or age, every actor has a shelf life

Be it contributing to areas hit by natural disasters, or trying a genre that not every actor would take the risk of doing — Akshay Kumar loves to take the lead in everything he does. Even when it’s about actors resuming work during the Covid-19 crisis, he was the first one to step out for an ad shoot and now, he’s among the first actors to shoot for a feature film, Bell Bottom, during the pandemic. In an exclusive chat, the actor talks about the new normal, his birthday plans and why he, too, feels theatres should finally open. Almost a month of filming in Scotland, how’s the new normal on a film set been?

I’m a very lucky man to be one of the first actors in the world to shoot a feature film in these times. But, I’m aware that many are struggling the world over, and I wish them the best, to get through this year. It’s not easy but never give up. Anything that you’re missing on set?

What I miss the most is hugging and shaking hands with those I respect, love and admire outside of my bubble. That’s something what makes me sit back and remember how warm and welcoming life was before this pandemic. But health and safety comes first. This version of life isn’t forever, it’s just for now. So, we all need to focus on self, social and societal improvements. Is it a relief to have your family by your side or is there a sense of worry too?

I’m blessed that my whole family is with me. First thing we did after the quarantine was take a walk in the park and played with this one tennis ball my daughter luckily carried with her. Of course there’s a sense of worry even though it’s much safer in Scotland right now — Covid is around every corner — but all we can do is be sensible, take precautions and move on with our lives safely. We saw your promo of Into the Wild with Bear Grylls... how was the experience?

Bear and I were destined to meet. We’re like brothers from other mothers, or ‘two peas in a pod’ like he’d say (laughs).

Any adrenaline wild junkie would be obsessed with everything he does. We believe in the same training, have so much passion for nature, stunts and pushing ourselves to our limits, age playing a factor only when we allow it to. You recently shared a video urging people to help the lesser privileged in these crisis. What hit you hard?

I felt our local vendors had no one speaking for them, so it was just a simple appeal to the public, as we all have a bhaji wale bhaiya, a fruit wale uncle, bread wale bhaiya etc, who’re a part of our lives and if we can help them, by just buying from them, we can all come out of this pandemic together. The theatre shutdown is also a big concern... as an actor and a producer, any thoughts?

Various sectors including airlines, malls, gyms etc. have started functioning with precautions, it’s about time theatres get a go-ahead. Not only will this help bring some stability to the film industry but also help so many people’s livelihood who’re associated with multiplexes, plus it’ll also bring the audiences some cheer in these drab times.