I’m not marriage material; can’t give up control
Unlike other actors, Akshaye Khanna doesn’t believe in having a film release in every few months or even a year. With quite a rare public appearances, the 44year-old self-confessed recluse recently starred in Section 375: Marzi Ya Zabardasti, which opened to good reviews. Excerpts from an interview:
You’ve been pretty slow when it comes to taking up projects. You did two films in 2012, the next one was four years later. It’s always termed a ‘comeback’...
I don’t look at it as a comeback. It’s just a phrase that people use, which is fine. It’s probably because in today’s world, you’re not supposed to take breaks that long.
In the past, you’ve said that you want your personal space. How difficult is that in a profession where you’re a public figure?
It’s not difficult. For any person, whether from the film industry or any other field, it all depends on how much you want to keep it personal. You could be someone not famous, yet have a large number of followers on social media. You choose how much you want to post on it. Some people bare their entire life on the internet. There are politicians and actors, who like that. But there are some who don’t want to do that.
But isn’t being an actor all about publicising yourself?
I don’t think it’s all about that, but a part of it.
Is it because of this reason that you’ve never got into a relationship or got married?
It’s not got anything to do with any particular aspect of one’s life. I’m just like that. It’s not one part of someone’s life that keeps them a little more private. That’s the way I’ve always been, even as a child! There’s no one particular thing holding me back. It’s a very natural question to ask I’d imagine.
Is marriage going to happen in the future?
I don’t see myself (getting married), I’m not marriage material, as they say. I’m not cut out for that kind of… (we
ask if it’s commitment)… not that, but that kind of life. It’s a commitment, but a drastic lifestyle change. Marriage changes everything. I want full control over my life. When you share your life with somebody else, you can’t have full control. You have to give a lot of control away. You share each other’s lives.
Will you ever adopt a child, if not get married?
I’m not cut out for that life; for sharing my life. Whether it’s getting married, or having kids. That too drastically changes your life. Everything important to you becomes less important, because the child gains utmost importance. That kind of changes life… and those kind of alterations that you have to make in your life are not the things I want to do. I’m not willing to give up. I don’t think even in future I will be willing to do (that).