What better than getting love from one of Bollywood’s most enduring stars. During a recent interview. Akshay Kumar showered praises on the work of new-age filmmakers like Aditya Dhar and Sandeep Reddy Vanga, saying he would be more than happy to collaborate with directors who are pushing Hindi cinema in bold new directions.
Speaking in an interview with podcaster Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Akshay said he is keen to work with filmmakers whose vision excites him, especially in the action space. “If any of these directors think that I deserve to be in their films, they can approach me. But most importantly, they should find something suitable for me, and I should also feel okay with it. I want to do an action film.”
Talking about Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and starring Ranbir Kapoor, Akshay praised the film for bringing back the larger-than-life ‘angry young man’ archetype with a new intensity. He said, “Then came Animal with Ranbir Kapoor and Bobby Deol. I can never forget Bobby Deol’s character.”
He further reflected on how the film pushed that rage-driven hero archetype beyond anything seen before. “The film brought back the whole ‘angry young man’ era – with ten times more power than what Amitabh Bachchan brought back then; that was limited, Animal wasn’t. Sandeep Reddy Vanga brought it back in a very different way,” he explained.
Akshay also had glowing words for Dhurandhar by Aditya Dhar, calling it a deeply researched and well-crafted movie experience. He said, “The way it explores the country – it was a very well-written film. Every question was answered. It was very clear that the makers knew a lot and had gathered information from multiple sources, which they turned into a film rooted in reality. It was very nuanced and beautifully done, taking something real and expanding it into a larger-than-life cinematic experience.”
Calling such films examples of evolving cinema, Akshay made it clear that he would love to be part of projects with that kind of ambition. “If I ever get an opportunity to work in such films, I would be more than happy.”