Akshay interview at 7am tomorrow” — this SMS landed in my inbox earlier this week. Having interviewed Akshay Kumar regularly for over 15 years, I am not surprised at having to meet the superstar at this unearthly hour (for my first-ever interview with Akshay, I was asked to reach his home at 5am!) but that doesn’t stop me from complaining about the inconvenience, to him.
 

“Why would you make me wake up so early in the morning?” I ask as we walk out of his Juhu bungalow towards his car. “I don’t understand why getting up early is such a big thing in India... especially in Mumbai. Why do people hate waking up? I was shooting in Chandigarh recently for Singh is Bling and I went to the hotel gym at about 6am. There were only eight people there and they were all foreigners,” he says shaking his head. 

As his car zooms towards central Mumbai, Akshay points to my coffee mug and says, “Smell the coffee and wake up! And by the time the rest of the city wakes up, both you and I could have completed so much work.” Well, he does have a point, so I stop complaining and switch on my dictaphone to talk to him about his May 1 release Gabbar is Back (a remake of the Tamil hit Ramana), his wife Twinkle Khanna’s columnist avatar and his pet peeve.

Your look in Gabbar has got everyone talking…
It was all Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s (the film’s producer’s) idea. He said that Gabbar should have long hair and a proper beard. According to him, being clean-shaven wouldn’t go with Gabbar’s personality. 
In the film, your beard is black but the grey specks in real life are making headlines...
(Laughs) Darling, what can I say now? I really don’t understand what the fuss about grey hair is. I am 47 and I have grey hair… deal with it! Why are people bothered so much?

At a time when most actors of your generation have moved towards one film a year, you continue to have multiple releases...
I can’t comment on others and the pace they work at, but I have three releases a year. At the same time, I think I had the maximum number of holidays in a year. After a month, I am going on a 45-day vacation. I don’t work on Saturday and Sunday. Every three months, I have a week off. The way I see it, a film takes about 60 days to make. So, three films take about 180 days in a year. I have almost half the year to chill and do whatever I want. If I want, I can easily make three more films! (Laughs) It’s all about proper time management.

For most Bollywood fans, Gabbar is the ultimate villain. Do you think they are ready to accept Gabbar as a hero?
Interesting question. See, he is also a villain. In Sholay, he was only a villain. In this film, he beats villains. He becomes a villain because he takes the law in his hands.
 
 

If your recent interviews are to be believed, you support vigilantism in real life as well?
Everyone has a dream, right? But today, the common man’s dreams are shattered because of corruption. From doctors to teachers, politicans… everyone is corrupt. When your family gets affected by injustice, anyone will protest. Tell me, what would you call Subhash Chandra Bose? Yes, he is a freedom fighter, but he started his fight against injustice. So, at the core of it, he was a vigilante. 

You know, places like Dubai don’t have crime because people are so afraid of the consequences. If you steal, your hands are chopped off. So, imagine what will happen if you try to touch a girl without her consent! We also have laws in India, but criminals don’t seem to be scared and that is very worrying. 

Is there any issue that gets you angry enough to want to turn into a vigilante?
I come from a family that didn’t have much money… I have been a common man. So, I have seen corruption at every level. Now that I have money, corruption doesn’t affect me that much. But what does get me very, very angry is people who spit on the road, defecate in public or throw garbage on the roads. There have been times when I have got off the car and shouted at auto drivers spitting paan on the road. I don’t understand why they do that! Do they keep their homes also that dirty? I live on the beach and 100 metres on either side of my house, no one is allowed to pee or shit. I remember when we had just moved to this house years ago, I had gone out and hit someone. Once people are scared of the repercussions of what they are going to do, they think twice before doing anything wrong. It’s like when a mother slaps her kid, she is doing it only to correct her child.

Twinkle has created quite a stir with her columns and tweets. Did you know that there was a writer in her?
Hmmm… I don’t know if she’s always wanted to write. What I do know is that she has always been very hardworking and focused. When she stopped acting, what she wanted to do was interior decoration and she worked hard to become the best interior decorator. It’s the same with writing. She’s very funny in real life as well, so it’s good to see how much people are appreciating her humour. I am very proud of her. 

Twinkle is writing a book. You have such an inspirational life story. Would you ever consider writing a biography?
Not really. I am not big on writing! (Laughs) That’s her area.

Karishma Upadhyay
What makes you angry enough to turn vigilante? 
Tell t2@abp.in