I'm not mentoring any heroine : Akshay Kumar

I'm not mentoring any heroine:
Akshay Kumar
Jan 8, 2013, 09.28AM
IST Mumbai Mirror [ Prachi
Kadam ]
Akki punches
holes in reports
that he has been
lobbying for a
few co-stars and
tells us why he
loved playing
the consummate scamster in his
next
Askhay Kumar, who worked
hard on his image of a
swashbuckling hero for more
than a decade, is keen to throw
it all up in the air. Even as his
Special Chhabbis readies for
release, the actor, who has been
grabbing attention with his new
avatar in the film, makes it
obvious that off the screen too,
he is keen to be seen in a
different light.
Among other things, he refuses
to be projected as someone
who has been mentoring' his
young heroines, or even
lobbying for his so called
favourites, whether it is Katrina
or Sonakshi.
Between his shots for the
under-production remake of
Murgadoss's Thuppaki co-
starring Sonakshi, the actor
takes umbrage when we ask
him if he had indeed been
instrumental in roping her in for
the film. "I'm just an actor and all
these decisions are taken by the
producers and directors. And
given that I am neither the
producer, nor the director of
this film, how and why will I
suggest anyone?" he shrugs,
looking visibly agitated. He even
gets the producer involved in
the discussion to corroborate
his point.
Emphatically dispelling all reports
of how he may have been
helping Sonakshi find the right
roles with Rowdy Rathore, OMG
and now Thuppaki, Akshay adds,
"That I am mentoring myself is
more than enough. Besides,
with such a stalwart as her
father, do you really think she
needs my mentoring?"
Nonetheless, the actor is candid
enough to admit what really
went wrong with the latest
Khiladi film, touted to be one of
the biggest in the franchise.
"May be it did not have enough
action," he analysis, before
pointing out that in Special
Chhabbis, where he plays a
scamster, he loved the idea of
playing a different kind of game:
"That of the mind," he smiles.
"It is a film based on the life of
this con artiste who is still
absconding," he says of the
Neeraj Pathak (of A Wednesday
fame) directorial, "I read the
script several times and realised
I simply had got to do it."
What was a refreshing change
for the actor, who could
sleepwalk through his routine of
action masala films, is the
opportunity to play the
"director's actor" all over again
and play a serious baddie
convincingly. "I did as Neeraj
told me to. He had written and
researched the subject and
knew what exactly what he
wanted. I was just like a man
who goes on a cruise lets the
captain take charge."
Keen to prove his detractors that
he still has it in him to take on
challenging roles, Akshay says he
took his time to say yes to the
project. "I don't want to be
typecast. When I started off as
an action hero it took me long to
convince people that I was
capable of handling other stuff -
and comedy happened, so did
romance. Now I can tell them
that I can be a bad villain too."
Even as Akshay relishes the idea
of playing a modern-day baddie
who has been involved with one
of the biggest heists of recent
times, there is one wholesome
role he is enjoying in real life.
"Yes it has happened again," he
says, softening up at the
mention of fatherhood baby girl.
"As my son gets ready to step
into the real world, he will be
away for his studies. Our baby
girl will be with us. I am happy,"
he says, before going off for the
next shot.
Incidentally, in Thuppaki, Akshay
will reprise his tried and tested
role of an action star.

m.timesofindia.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Im-not-mentoring-any-heroine-Akshay-Kumar/articleshow/17935488.cms