Bollywood hunk Akshay Kumar who makes special efforts in ‘reinventing’ himself , with diverse roles as was evident with his Lord Krishna screen avatar in the recent movie O My God, will now be seen as the fake CBI sleuth in his latest opus Special Chabbis (26). In today’s times of immensely popular reality TV shows like Crime Patrol (Sony), this movie too is a dramatised action replay of the daring, shocking heist which happened way back in 1987 at a leading jewelry showroom at Opera House. Interestingly, this film is directed by the talented Neeraj Pandey who won critical acclaim with his A Wednesday maverick movie. So impressed was Akshay Kumar with the story and screenplay as narrated by Pandey, that he reportedly discounted his hefty fees to 50 per cent.
Enthuses the ‘Khiladi’ Kumar, “Yes, that’s true that I slashed my remuneration, because I loved the story and my character-graph. Initially I was a bit reluctant, but then after the detailed narration I felt the script had terrific potential for my con-man character. Honestly speaking, I have always craved to play an out-and-out villainish character who gives a tough time to the hero. But in Special 26, its an anti-hero greyish character. As the movie swiftly unfolds, it is bound to keep the audience on tenterhooks”. Incidentally, his romantic screen-pairing is opposite the vivacious bubbly Kajal Aggarwal (last seen in Singham) who has an uncanny resemblance to Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan.
“Must say, that Kajal who is also a popular mega-star in Southside regional films, is an amazing modest actress and we hit it off very well. Our heart-warming chemistry is evident on the screen,” shrugs Kumar. Adjusting his branded anti-sun glares, the macho Kumar continues, “Guess it will be a refreshing change where instead of the usual maar-dhaad, my fans will witness a ‘mind-action’ manipulative con game which is mind-boggling yet hard-hitting,” he chuckles.