The first thing that Akshaye Khanna loves to talk about, when we meet him, are his fond memories of the city.
Says he, “I used to come to Pune 25 years back. That was the time when my dad (Vinod Khanna) used to be in the Osho Ashram. I remember he would pick me up from the school on Friday evenings and we would reach the Ashram late in the nights. I would be in and around the Ashram on weekends,” recalls Akshaye. And, the best part about Pune he misses are the rickshaw rides. “At that time, Koregaon Park was lush and green. A ride around the Ashram would be two or three bucks. I loved it,” says Akshaye, who was last in Pune about two years back for the shooting of Gandhi My Father.
Akshaye, whose recent release talks of the father-son relationship, has an interesting take on the usual father-son films in Bollywood. “Usually, it is a lot of rona-dhona where conflict and generation gap is shown between father and son. So, it was nice doing a film which had a comic angle to it where the father is more like the son and the son more like father!” Does he take advise from his dad, who himself is an illustrious actor? “I used to when I started off, not anymore. If at all I need a second opinion, I go to him. But, frankly, that’s hardly there,” he says.
Talking about the films he has done, he rates Gandhi My Father very highly. “I think probably it was the most important film of my career. I feel playing the role of Harilal Gandhi creatively has given me immense satisfaction. We don’t make many of these kinds of films, and it’s one of those films where every department, whether it is cinematography or costumes, excelled. I am very proud of it and very thankful to both Anil and Feroz to have considered me for that role,” says Akshaye.
In his long career, the actor has done a variety of roles from intense ones to comedies. What is he most comfortable doing? “For me, it doesn’t matter what kind of role I am doing. I just enjoy the process of acting and filmmaking. Sometimes people say that doing comedy is more difficult. But, from my experience I can say doing comedy is more easy,” he says. Explaining further, he adds, “But I have done hardly two or three comedy films and most of them have been with Priyadarshan. Priyan’s writing is so strong that he makes the work easy. And, I think, script is the most important part of a comedy flick. If you have a brilliant scene and dialogue on paper, somehow it manifests on screen, and Priyan does a great job out of it. So, maybe I’m a bit spoilt with him.”
Akshaye believes that Bollywood has undergone a sea change from the time he made his debut. “I would say it is more organised and professional now. The quality of films in terms of technical aspects has improved. But, the main change has come in terms of how we fund our movies, how we manage that money, and how films are released. It’s much more transparent and clean,” says Akshaye.
Quiz Akshaye on when he is getting married and he laughs off, “I have decided not to get married,” he says crisply. On a more serious note, he adds, “As of now, I have not decided on marriage. I don’t see myself getting married soon. Frankly, I am not in love with the very concept of getting married. But, that’s for now. Maybe that would change with time. For marriage, meeting the right person is very important and that has not happened with me so far, nor am I looking forward to that either. When it has to happen, it will happen,” Akshaye Khanna signs off.
