Akshay Kumar: Coping with everything in the industry is difficult

By Sugandha Rawal New Delhi, Jan 30 : It has been 30 years since Akshay Kumar entered Bollywood, and to say his journey has been eventful would be an understatement. From outsider and struggler to National Award-winning superstar has been a long road, and Akshay says entering the industry is easier than maintaining one’s position and and coping up with everything.
“The challenge lies in maintaining yourself. Maintaining yourself in the industry is a big challenge. You will not believe that entering the film industry is still easier, but to maintain yourself in the industry and to keep up and cope up with everything going on, and be there in the industry, is a very difficult job,” Akshay told IANS, reflecting on his journey.
Over the years, Akshay has held on to the advice his father onccce gave him, as he surged ahead in his career.
“I follow what my father taught me — keep working hard. Kal ki chinta na karo, aapne aap sab kuch theek hona shuru ho jayega (Stop worrying about the future, everything will get sorted out),” he shared.
The 53-year-old actor continued: “A lot of times, I have seen how the movie that I know is not good works. On the other hand there are times when I know the film is good, and yet it doesn’t work. God has his own way of working and rewarding you. Jahaan dena hai wahaan kabhi kabhi nahi deta aur jahaan nahi dena wahaan de deta hai.” Akshay walked into the industry with “Saugandh” in 1991, but it was the action-packed thrills and punches of “Khiladi” (1992) that gave him the ticket to mainstream entertainment. There was a time when Bollywood’s Khiladi Kumar got stuck in the action hero image, but he soon managed to break away from the stereotype with punches of another kind — comedy. At that time, he also explored rom-com space.