Akshay Joins 'brothers' On Monday

Akshay joins his ‘Brothers’ on Monday

Akshay Kumar is probably the only actor-producer, who works on four films in a year. The actor, who has shot only 32 days for Baby in its 50-day-shoot schedule, will start shooting for Karan Malhotra’s Brothers on Monday. The actor has lost about 10-12 kilos of weight to look leaner and physically weaker than Sidharth Malhotra who plays his younger brother in the film.

The 47-year-old says, “The story demands that I look leaner than Sidharth. So, I worked out accordingly, and my body is in the desired shape now. We will start shooting together from Monday, although Sidharth and Jackie Shroff have been shooting for a few weeks now. Sidharth has beefed up and looks really heavy.”

Brothers is the official remake of Warrior directed by Gavin O Connor. While Sidharth steps into Tom Hardy’s shoes, Akshay Kumar plays Joel Edgerton’s part and Jackie plays their father, which was originally played by Oscar nominee Nick Nolton. The story revolves around two estranged brothers, whose entry into a mixed martial arts tournament forces them to forego their past and come to terms with each other.  

The script has been altered to suit Indian sensibilities. According to the original, the younger brother had the meatier part to play in the story. If that has been kept intact, shouldn’t Akshay feel insecure that a much younger hero has a bigger role to play in a movie he’s co-producing?

“There’s no insecurity with younger actors because I don’t go looking for larger-than-life hero roles. Even in The Shaukeens, I’m playing a character. I don’t care for the screen duration. I’m looking for interesting characters and there are so many that I want to play,” says the action-star, adding, “I’m consciously playing well-etched parts in most of my upcoming films like Baby, Gabbar, Airlift, Brothers,  barring one or two stray projects like Singh Is Bling in which I play the typical hero, who is also turbaned and he shines. Honestly, for how long do people expect me to play the larger-than-life hero like I did in Rowdy Rathore? I get bored with those roles pretty easily now!”