Bollywood For Beginners: Part 17

Note: This series was originally posted to my Bollywood blogspot blog and represents the cumulation of the wisdom of a decade or so spent in the Bollywood trenches. It would have last been edited in about 2014.

Bollywood for Beginners 17

Know Your Heroes: 

1990s-Today: AKSHAY KUMAR

In 2009, Warner Brothers attempted to dip its fingers into the Bollywood honeypot with a highly publicized film called Chandni Chowk to China (CC2C). Maybe you even remember reading about it. The film attempted to bridge the gap between Bollywood and the types of Asian genre films accepted by Western audiences by mushing together elements of kung fu, masala, and the hero Akshay Kumar’s own biography. The film followed the story of a hapless Delhi chef who discovers a latent talent for martial arts and triumphs over unlikely odds. Although CC2C flopped badly, Akshay’s story is one of an unlikely hitmaker and comeback kid, the story of talent and hard work overcoming a lack of filmi connections, the story of a man who gets knocked down but always dusts himself off and keeps on making films.

Akshay Kumar was born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia and did actually work as a chef in Bangkok while he was studying martial arts.* When he returned to India, he taught martial arts in Mumbai while working towards his big break. Akshay Kumar is known as the khiladi (or “player”) for a series of films that he did in the 1990s in which he played a super-cool, super-macho, super-duper action guy. The films are variations on a specific theme: Akshay being really (extremely unironically) cool. He wears stylish clothes, romances some hot ladies, dishooms some bad guys, does some stunts, and is basically just awesome. 

Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (I’m a Player You’re Not, 1994), Sabse Bara Khiladi (The Biggest Player, 1995), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (The Player-est Player, 1996), Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi (1997), International Khiladi (1999), etc. How can you top being the khilading-est khiladi? The answer, as Akshay found out, is that you can’t. 

Akshay kept plugging away at films, trying to find another formula that worked. He played second banana and foil to bigger heroes in multistarrers and cornered the market on cheap two-hero comedy films—generating a brotherly jodi***—with his male co-stars. We might not even be talking about Akshay today except for a series of lucky breaks in 2007 and an even luckier break in 2008 with a Punjabi-flavored masala comedy called Singh Is Kinng. His success in those years has been enough to carry him through some spectacular flops in 2009, 2010, and 2011—including Chandni Chowk to China.

The thing about the khiladi, though, is you can never count him out. Even when he is down, Akshay has a notoriously excellent work ethic. In an industry where three hour delays while waiting for an actor or actress to show up on set are not unusual, Akshay is on set everyday bright and early. He also releases an astonishing number of films a year, steadily putting out four or five like clockwork. And while Akshay had a string of highly publicized affairs with actresses in his early days, the khiladi now keeps his private life out of the tabloids. He’s married to an actress cum stylist (she does all his clothes), has a son, and keeps on making films.

Akshay is at his heart a hero for the masses—for the average working Rajiv and not the critics. Trademarks of a typical Akshay Kumar film these days include at least one club-banging number with a Punjabi flavor (and maybe some rap), really broad comedy, ladies in tiny outfits, and lots of action. Think Paul Blart: Mall Cop levels of crowd-pleasing material.****

Perhaps that is not to your taste and, if so, you should probably avoid certain segments of Akshay’s catalog as it really represents the mass in mass entertainment.

I’m going to give you a mix of popular and “flop” films. Humor being subjective, this might be hit or miss but I will do my best.

Tees Maar Khan (2010) - The farcsical story of the world’s most amazing con artist, Tees Maar Khan puts Akshay’s khiladi persona to good use in this film about the making of a film.

Namastey London (2007) - This film boosted the stars of both Akshay and his co-star Katrina Kaif. Akshay plays a good-hearted Punjabi man who falls for a flighty London girl. And keep an eye out for delightfully smarmy British actor Clive Standen (Camelot, Doctor Who, Robin Hood), who is given a juicy role as Akshay’s rival.

Hera Pheri (2000) - If you are looking something slapstick but not stupid, this is the film for you. Three down-on-their-luck schmoes get caught up in a wacky scheme... and hilarity ensues. Watch for a superb parody of Akshay’s khiladi persona and for actress Tabu who you might recognize from The Namesake.

* He has famously said he had three posters on his wall at the time - his heroes Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Lee and buxom Bollywood bombshell Sridevi.

**which has nothing to do with weed - “420” is the Indian police code for thief.

*** Bollywood-ese for “pairing” or “relationship.” The word tends to be used in place of “chemistry” in Bollywood reviews.

**** Note that I said “typical” film, every once in a while Akshay likes to experiment with roles that allow him to use his acting talents for something other than pratfalls and quips. Usually these films are huge flops and not because they are bad (more often than not they are quite good) but because they aren’t “typical” Akshay Kumar films. It would be like Kevin James deciding to do Shakespeare, maybe he could knock a dramatic role out of the park but his typical audience would likely hate it.