Top Ten Akshay Kumar Films – Part 2

2012 looks like a busy year for Akshay Kumar. With five films slated for release, including a 3D science fiction extravaganza directed by Shirish Kundar (only his second film as director, since Jaan-E-Mann 2006), and, after a twelve year break, a return to the brand of film titles that made him famous in the upcoming Khiladi 786. Although his films often take a lot of knocking from the critics, he continues to draw in crowds at the box office – and looks set to continue this way in the year to come.

So, without further ado, let’s continue the countdown which we started here…

05. MAIN KHILADI TU ANARI (1994)

A remake of the Michael J. Fox film The Hard Way (1991), Main Khiladi Tu Anari was the first pairing of Akshay with Saif Ali Khan and, even today, still remains the best loved due to its cheesy charm and infectious sense of fun.

Saif plays Deepak Kumar, a vain and silly actor who is disillusioned by his ‘romantic’ image. He decides to shadow Akshay (who is a tough and serious police officer) so that he can learn how to be a bad ass. Of course, this unwanted attention puts a cramp in Akshay’s style and leads to all sorts of amusing situations, some involving Shilpa Shetty (who co-stars as an illiterate street dancer with big dreams).

While it is certainly longer and not as tightly scripted as the original, Main Khiladi Tu Anari has the edge due to the chemistry of its leads.

04. TEES MAAR KHAN (2010)

As Farah Khan’s first directorial effort that doesn’t star Shahrukh Khan, Tees Maar Khan fell, unfortunately, flat at the box office. There are speculations that her husband and producer, Shirish Kunder (director of Jaan-E-Mann, 2006), ghost directed the film and it certainly seems to display more of his style than hers; however, that by no means makes it a bad film. It just makes it, perhaps, a bit of a disappointment to those looking for another Main Hoon Na (2004) or Om Shanti Om (2007).

Based on the Peter Sellers comedy After The Fox (1966), Akshay plays a conman who devises an elaborate scheme to rob a train loaded with money and antiques. Roping in his delusional girlfriend (a delightfully dizzy Katrina Kaif) and his inept henchmen, he takes over a rural village, duping the villagers (and an Oscar obsessed actor) into believing he is a Hollywood director making an important picture.

The jokes are more hit than miss and come fast and furious. Akshay seems to have been given free rein to act as wacky as he likes – and his larger than life performance carries the film.

03. Yeh Dillagi (1994)

A remake of the Hepburn/Bogart vehicle Sabrina (1954), Yeh Dillagi is a sweet romantic offering from Yash Raj studios.

Akshay and Saif play the two brothers (one serious, the other a playboy) who both end up falling in love with the ugly-duckling-turned-swan Kajol (luminous).

Although his handsome face is obscured by (gasp!) glasses, Akshay makes a better love interest than Bogart, merely due to simply being younger. His macho heroics are kept to a minimum here and he pulls off the role of a responsible businessman surprisingly well.

02. Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007)

Based on Manichitrathazhu (1993), a Malayalam film that has since been remade several times (including a Tamil version starring Rajinikanth), Bhool Bhulaiyaa is the most polished and cinematic version so far.

Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja) and Avni (Vidya Balan) return to India from America and move into Siddharth’s ancestral home – a haunted palace. Strange things begin to happen as Avni, disbelieving of what she considers “superstitious nonsense,” opens the sealed rooms belonging to a court dancer who killed herself after the old King murdered her lover. After people begin to suspect that someone has been possessed, Siddharth enlists the help of radical psychiatrist, Aditya Shrivastav (Akshay), to uncover the mystery.

Although partly a comedy, there is still enough tension and creepy goings on to make Bhool Bhulaiyaa genuinely scary at times. The climactic song, ‘Ami Je Tomar’, is well filmed, and both it and the exorcism which follows it are disturbing and very memorable.

01. Jaan-E-Mann (2006)

Part parody, part romance, part teen movie and part Hollywood-style musical, Jaan-E-Mann also adds an extra sprinkle of ‘crazy’ to create an unusual treat of a movie.

Akshay plays Agastya Rao, an awkwardly adorable guy who, we discover through flashbacks, was a curly haired nerd with braces in college. He was also madly in love with Piya (Preity Zinta), a beautiful popular girl who was dating rocker Suhan (Salman Khan). In the present, Suhan and Piya have separated and, hatching a plot to get Piya remarried so that he no longer has to pay alimony, Suhan decides to transform Agastya into Piya’s ideal man, all the while falling back in love with her himself.

Despite his leading-man looks, Akshay has a talent for playing dorks, and Agastya is by far his most endearing role.

By Hayley Murden

Hayley Murden is a recent graduate from Edinburgh College of Art, with a BA
(Hons) in Photography. She is an avid film fan and aspiring novelist.…

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