Akshay Kumar talks about his toughest stunt and remembers how Mahesh Bhatt ended up 'running away'

Akshay Kumar revealed his toughest stunt from the 1998 film Angaaray, where he jumped from the seventh to the fourth floor. He prefers to avoid body doubles to ensure the action feels authentic.

Published: Tuesday,Jan 28, 2025 03:22 AM GMT-07:00

Yukta Khanna

Saif Ali Khan — Akshay Kumar recalls doing risky stunts

Actor Akshay Kumar, who is renowned for performing his own stunts, recently discussed his most difficult experience while promoting his film Sky Force alongside Veer Pahariya. He shared a story from Mahesh Bhatt’s 1998 action-thriller Angaaray, where the director was so anxious that he ran off the set, fearing something might go wrong.

In an interview with The Quint, Akshay recounted a particularly daring stunt where he had to jump from the seventh floor of one building to the fourth floor of another, with just a narrow road separating them.

There was a stunt in Angaaray which I did jumping from a seven floor building. In between, there was a road, but only one lane, and there was another building on the other side. So, I had to jump from the seventh to fourth floor. During that, my director ran away
- Akshay Kumar

He went on to add, “Mahesh Bhatt was my director and before I could even do the stunt, he just ran away. He said, ‘Mereko nahi dekhna hai, yeh marr jaayega’ (He said I don’t want to watch, he is going to die). He went away, so I did that shot without my director."

During the Amar Ujala Samvad in Lucknow last year, Akshay Kumar explained his reasons for typically steering clear of using body doubles. Our audience buys tickets of Rs 250, Rs 350 and come to watch us. They would like to see real things. I don’t want them to feel cheated. Some stunts are there, which you should not try and do it. They are very risky. That’s where you take VFX’s help," he recalled.

He said, “Stunts are very risky, life threatening too. But mostly, I would like to give my audience the real stuff. We go through running, we fall, we tumble. That is important. I don’t want my audience to be cheated and give them what they require. Fear is always there, but the stunts we do, we make sure it is safe enough. Even if you are jumping off this stool, you should do all safety checks. You should know how to land. Similarly, it is important that whenever we do it, we ensure nothing goes wrong."

The film Sky Force, featuring Akshay Kumar and Veer Pahariya, was released in theaters on January 24.