For the first time, Akshay lends his name to a film
The teaser of the Marathi film Chumbak is getting a lot of praise. However, many people might not have noticed a special thing in it — this is the first time that a film’s teaser has ‘Akshay Kumar presents’ in its credits, which is a major departure from the actor’s conventional method of using his production house’s name for the films that he is backing.
The actor exclusively tells HT the reason behind this shift and what made him attach his name to this film. “In my entire career, my production houses have produced a lot of films but I never really felt the need to lend my name to any of the projects. However, with Chumbak, even though it’s a very small film made with a total budget of ₹1.5 crore, it has such a big heart that I could not resist calling it an Akshay Kumar film. I’m proud to be presenting it,” says Akshay.
The actor’s production companies, including Hari Om Entertainment, Grazing Goat Pictures, and Cape of Good Hope, have churned out several films but none carried Akshay’s name as the producer.
The endearing teaser of Chumbak shows a 15-year-old boy’s coincidental meeting with a 45-year-old mentally challenged man, a character portrayed by lyricist Swanand Kirkire, who makes his acting debut with the film.
Akshay adds that he was completely blown away by Swanand’s performance in the film. “Although he is a noted dialogue writer and lyricist in Bollywood and is making his acting debut, he has done such brilliant work [in this film] that no way one can say he is acting on the big screen for the first time. So, the moment I saw the film, it took me less than a minute to decide that I wanted to give my name as the presenter,” he says.
The actor, who first saw the film at MAMI Mumbai film festival in 2017, stated that it lingered in his mind, so, he eventually decided to present it. He also tweeted that he hasn’t seen such an honest film yet, one that has made him both laugh and cry.