Into the deep blue sea

Thursday, Oct 08, 2009

Gulf News

Akshay Kumar gave up his favourite shark fin soup, slashed his eyebrows and endured rigorous training for Blue. Here the Bollywood action hero talks about his big budget sea adventure, which will make its first outing at MEIFF next week.

Bollywood titan Akshay Kumar will never enjoy shark fin soup, a favourite dish of his, again. It took him something drastic - like shooting an underwater scene with sharks circling above him for the film Blue - to sacrifice this controversial Chinese delicacy.

"I used to love shark fin soup. After diving for a stunt scene with 30 sharks above my head, I have given it up completely. Do you know I even got slapped with their fins?," he said in an exclusive interview with tabloid! before his appearance at the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF).

"The sharks had the chance to eat me, but they let me go. Now, I have decided to let go of them."

Kumar's latest film, the sea-adventure Blue, is billed as one of the most expensive Bollywood films ever made and will make its first outing at MEIFF on Wednesday.

Along with 42-year-old Kumar, his Blue entourage, comprising heavyweights like Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan might grace the red-carpet for the world premiere.

Giving up on soup was not Kumar's sole sacrifice. The Singh is Kinng star even slashed one of his eyebrows for the role of a ruthless tycoon who embarks on a deep-sea treasure hunt.

"The idea came to my mind when I met one of the divers in the Bahamas. They often have an interesting look about them. They are different from the usual lot& They have a certain edge."

Tweaking his facial hair was complemented by six months of rigorous physical training. "One of the biggest challenges was to look like I belonged to the ocean. And that comes only with practice. I had to keep aside a lot of time to learn how to dive, snorkel and swim effortlessly. Even my muscles had to be toned and conditioned."

With more than Dh77 million riding on his sculpted shoulders, Kumar is not willing to leave anything to chance. After a dry spell at the box-office with his recent romantic comedy Kambhakkt Ishq (Damn Love) failing to entice Bollywood buffs, Kumar is eager to make amends. The actor goes to the extent of apologising for his role. In that film, Kumar played a male chauvinist mouthing crude dialogues for his love interest, Kareena Kapoor. Needless to say, the world of candy-floss cinema was not receptive.

"I apologise if I have hurt people with my role. But they need to realise that it was a role of a male chauvinist. So, who likes people like that? In real life, I am not one."

True to his disclaimer, his wife Twinkle Khanna and his son Aarav will accompany him to Abu Dhabi and walk down the red-carpet to share his glorious moment. Last time around, their togetherness was on full display when Aussie pop idol Kylie Minogue - who has a cameo appearacne in Blue - touched down in Mumbai to record a song with double Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman. The Spinning Around singer was invited to a meal in Kumar's palatial home. But it was her professionalism that floored Kumar. He says he was mighty impressed with Minogue skillfully embracing Bollywood with the film.

"I have performed Bollywood numbers before, but it was the first time she [Minogue] was doing it. She adapted it with such grace and she did it in such a manner that it made you feel as if she does it daily."

He was equally impressed with Anthony D'Souza, the debutante director of Blue. Kumar - a self-made star who made it big in a highly-clannish Bollywood - says D'Souza's strong point was his passion towards making good cinema.

"To me, it was never about working with big banners, it was about working with big ideas and passionate people. Tony has bled for this movie. His passion towards Blue is incredible."

The movie also spells the return of the action-hero. With Blue, Kumar, who made his Bollywood mark with a string of action-packed thrillers such as Khiladi and Mohra in the '90s and then branched out to do comedy and romantic films, returns to his original form.

"This is the kind of action I have never done before. Technically perfect, this will be a first of its kind for a Bollywood fan."

The deep-sea thriller also marks the reunion of Dutt and Kumar on the big screen. The two were last seen in Raj Sippy's 1994 drama Amanat - during which they had a fall-out.

"Those are just rumours. I worked with him 15 years back and I really missed working with him. He is the hero of the film," Kumar says.

By Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Staff Reporter