Actor Akshay Kumar requested director Suneel Darshan to keep a promise after encountering Hrithik Roshan; director recalls emotional moment when producer insulted actor.
Akshay Kumar, also known as Khiladi Kumar, has achieved remarkable success in Bollywood with memorable roles over his three-decade-long career. In a recent interview, filmmaker Suneel Darshan revealed that when the actor faced a string of flops, a producer once refused to put his picture on a billboard and disrespected him, saying he wasn’t worthy of it. Additionally, when the producer considered casting Hrithik Roshan in a film, Akshay suggested casting him in the producer’s next 100 films.
Filmmaker Suneel Darshan, who has collaborated with Akshay Kumar in films such as Andaaz and Ek Rishtaa, recently shared in an interview with Friday Talkies that during a rough patch in Akshay’s career when big films like Hera Pheri and Dhadkan were not being released, Darshan took a risk by casting him in the film Jaanwar.
Suneel shared a specific instance when, a few days before the release of their film, another film featuring the Welcome actor was scheduled for release. Without naming the film, he described how the producer mistreated Kumar and mentioned that he wasn’t worth a billboard.
Sharing more details, the filmmaker said, “Akshay Kumar came to meet me at my office. During those days, he would come every day to meet me. He was crying. He shared, ‘I just met with the producer of my film and asked him why he didn’t put any banners, and he said, tumhari aukaat nahi hai ki billboard lagaya jaye.’ That day was the first time I felt nervous. But, I controlled my emotions and thought of doing something.”
After listening to Kumar, the producer of Andaaz decided to promote him instead of backing out. They chose to feature Akshay Kumar alone on the largest billboard in Juhu. The poster did not even include the film’s leading ladies, Shilpa Shetty and Karisma Kapoor, who had delivered hits during that time. Although the film did not perform well in Mumbai, it became a huge success in other parts of the country after its release.
However, Akshay heard that Suneel had gone to meet Hrithik Roshan for a project, so he decided to pay a visit to his office. Recalling the incident, Suneel Darshan shared, “He said, ‘I heard you are making a film with Hrithik Roshan’. I was like, ‘Where did you hear that?’ He said, ‘I heard you met Rakesh Roshan in his office the other day’. I said, ‘I did meet him because he called me to show some songs of his son.’ He was like, ‘oh, okay’. Then he held my hand and asked me to promise him that I will make 100 films with him.”
On the work front, Akshay is again going through a rough patch. His last 12 films haven’t performed well at the box office. Still, the actor is working hard on his next films, such as Sky Force, Shankara, Jolly LLB 3, and Housefull 5.
Meanwhile, Pinkvilla exclusively reported earlier that the actor’s upcoming film Sky Force will be released on Republic Day in 2025, and fans can expect the trailer to be released on Christmas.
ALSO READ: Akshay Kumar returns to Mumbai with smile after Houseful 5’s long schedule; WATCH what left him amazed at airport