Suniel Shetty feels Akshay Kumar has found 'patriotic' niche

Actor Suniel Shetty says that his "Hera Pheri" co-star Akshay Kumar has carved a niche for himself in the patriotic genre due to his 'fauji'-like personality and clean image.

"Akshay is that actor who is very versatile, whether it is in 'Baby', 'Airlift', or 'Holiday' ... he has found that niche for himself because he looks like an officer and a gentleman," said Sunil at a cricket match for the differently abled organised by his wife's NGO, Save The Children India.

"There are few actors who have a personality like this - who you can term as 'fauji' (soldier) or one where you feel that this man will do something for the country - a clean image, a great personality and a brilliant actor," he added.

Akshay's recent film, "Airlift", which has a patriotic theme, is doing brilliant business at the box-office, while his recent films based on similar themes like "Baby", "Holiday" and even "Gabbar Is Back" to an extent, had done decent business commercially.

Akshay and Sunil had started their careers at the same time in early 1990s and featured in numerous films at that time such as "Waqt Hamara Hai" and "Mohra" and were competitors. They also acted later in "Dhadkan" and also in comedies such as "Hera Pheri", and "Awara Paagal Deewana" among others.

Suniel,too, has acted in films with patriotism and love for the country as backdrop, particularly in films by J.P. Dutta such as "Border", "LOC - Kargil" and "Refugee".

"I always thought that if 10-12 J. P. Duttas are born, then it'd be great because no one else has the courage to make films like him. Such films will be made and I'm happy that such films are being made and given a push. If you see this year, good films have worked and not big films," he added.

Sunil was last seen in "Desi Kattey" and "Koyelaanchal" in lead roles.