Akshay Kumar's 'dark' side

Mumbai: Akshay Kumar turned to literature to get into the skin of his character in his forthcoming film 8X10 Tasveer directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. Akshay got hold of some dark writings of Edgar Allan Poe, known for his mystery and macabre, and the 19th century French writer Guy de Maupassant to essay the character of Jai.

Akshay says, "I am not very fond of dark literature. That's why it was not easy for me to play a deep, dark, moody man. But in hindsight I loved it. You seriously cannot snap yourself out of such roles. They affect your whole personality."

Akshay plays a man of Indian origin who becomes a forest ranger in Canada. The unusual script sees him do time travel with the help of an 8X10 photograph to solve murder mysteries.

"Akshay wanted to understand the world of mystery and science fiction. He plays a man who could go back in the past and delve out facts about the lives of dead people with a photograph of a particular size. He believes in the world of the supernatural and the plot has him investigate the death of his own father. It was something he had never done before and thought reading supernatural and mystery thrillers would help him understand that domain better," says a source.