Akshay Kumar had three releases in 2017-2018 and the number of four went up in 2019, and with that remains his hit ratio unchanged. Like Kesari, Mission Mangal and Housefull 4, the Good Newzz also hit the bull’s eye. It has set the box office on fire and became the Akshay Kumar’s biggest hit in the international market as well. The film earned ₹177.31 crores mark in just 13 days.
The film is all about semen getting exchanged during the IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) process.
“IVF is a tricky subject to talk about. I am happy to be a part of such film, rather educational film, I would say that talks about IVF, its process and a relationship of a parent with a newborn baby even though the sperm is of someone else’s. If you ask me, what I liked the most is that parents have taken their kids to the theatre to watch the movie and they have loved it. You know IVF is a genre which has been addressed for the first time in Bollywood, not even Hollywood has talked about it, you see. I think IVF has come as a boon to women who wants to become pregnant at the age of 35-40years because of their career or any other issues or such. The best part is that it has a 90-95% success rate’’, says Akshay as he readies for Sooryavanshi, Bachchan Pandey and Prithviraj this year.
Did your real-life experience help you? Talking about this question Akshay says, “Few scenes were there in the movie where I did relate to the experience that I had when my kids were born. Suppose, I am working in a scene with my co-actor who is playing the role of my wife, then I use to imagine that I am with my real wife and this is what makes things easy. So yes, the real-life experience does help when I shoot for any movie, especially the scenes with family.’’
He is a non-smoker and drinker, “It is better if you do not judge the person; it is the character so I would say that instead of judging, it is best if you enjoy the movie. See we have to play different characters in movies, be it good or bad, which is completely professional and could be different from our personality at times. So, I would say that focus on enjoying the character and the movie,” added Akshay.
Akshay reveals when his son was born, he could not make a connection with him.
“See the fact is, a father develops the attachment with a kid after a few months of his/her birth. The reason behind this is it takes a lot of time to realize that you have become a father. But, the baby grows inside the mother so automatically she gets attached to the baby since the day she gets the “Good Newz”. I still remember the time when my son was born, and even after that, I could not make a connection with him. But, gradually I started making connections with him and that feeling is something extremely special. The mother does not have to establish a connection because the baby takes nine months to grow inside her. So you see this is altogether a beautiful relationship, which is impossible to express in words,” says the actor.
Should we expect more films to come up like ‘Good News’ and ‘Badhai Ho’? Can we expect to get back the old-time comedies now? Akshay says, “There are different types of comedy, and it is best not to put down any of the comedies. About ten to twelve different types of comedies are there like physical comedy, slapstick comedy, situational comedy, and others. If you talk about ‘Good News’, then I would say that this is a situational comedy. When it comes to ‘Housefull 4’, I would say that it is more like a physical and slapstick comedy. But, then the movie earned 200 crores in the box office which means that there are people who do enjoy these kinds of comedies otherwise the film would have been a complete flop. Movies like ‘Golmaal’, ‘Grand Masti’ does have comedy, and there are takers who do love watching these kinds of movies so it is best to enjoy them.’’
You have made different types of films, so do you think that movies should have a message? Talking about it he added, “ Not every film needs to have a message. Yes, few films indeed are there that comes with a message, but it is not compulsory that every film should have a message. See, I believe that films are a mode of entertainment, and people watch them to take a break from their hectic life. So, not necessarily every film should come with a message.”
The current films of his are quite different from those of the past, Akshay shares, “If you talk about my previous films, then at that time I was not a producer which I am now. See there was a phase when people were into commercial films, and if during that time I would have made ‘Toilet- Ek Prem Katha’, then it would not have been liked by people much. I have been making these kinds of movies for nine years, and it is possible because I have become a producer now and I can make any kind of film I want to.”
‘Sex’ is still a taboo in our society so didn’t you feel awkward while making the movie? Talking about it Akshay says, “See the time has changed, and I feel that sex is not a taboo anymore. It is an educational aspect and I think that sex should be given importance. I believe that most of the educational institutions have already included sex education as a subject too. It is a natural thing and one should not shy away from this.”
Don’t you think that the film industry has played a great role in removing this taboo? “I would say that it’s not the film industry, but the media that can play a huge role in removing this taboo. The more you people focus on removing this belief the more people will get to know about it,” added Akshay Kumar.
After released Good Newwz what kind of response you received from the public? Talking about this question Akshay shares, “I have received a lot of good reviews for the movie actually, and I am happy that people loved my movie.”
He did four different films in the year 2019, “ I actually have not given so much effort to analyze 2019 because I believe that every year is special for me. I just focus on my work so that I can come up with different movies,” added Akshay.
The actor who received the national award recently. Sharing his feelings, Akshay says, “Definitely, it was the best feeling, and the whole credit goes to my wife, as it was her production and her idea about the movie. So, definitely, most of the credit goes to her.”
Searching for a good script and story writers, Akshay shares, “Yes, I do look out for good script and story writers because without them it is impossible to make a successful film. I would say that I feel quite lucky to get the opportunity to work in these kinds of films and I definitely do not boast myself as a talented person.”
By Swapnil Dhanaji Kurade
