Tuesday, October 13, 2009

My Blue Experience...

There is more to Blue than anyone who watches this film could ever imagine!!! It’s not just the colour Blue, (not since I cracked my head open and bled like a stuffed pig 100ft under water!!) This experience has pushed just about everyone involved to their absolute limits. From the producer’s bank balance, to the director’s maximum efforts for his first baby which just happens to be the most dangerous movie I’ve ever been a part of. To all the actors and actresses, the pressures and fitness levels we all had to reach; before any of us could even enter the water; to the amount of amazing talent and resources and crew effort... The list is endless... Seriously, if people hadn’t given their utmost love and dedication to the film; I don’t think anyone of us would have gone anywhere near that many sharks! People always ask me whether I’m mad to work with first-time directors on such huge movies! My answer is always, I’d be mad not to.

What I loved shooting about this film other than the extreme stunts, the pressure, and hardcore diving sessions with all those hungry sharks around, was the fact that I got to work with the toughest, the most professional and most talented team I’ve ever come across. Pete Zuccarini, the underwater cameraman is a person I’ll never forget. He taught me not only to look like a fish but act, swim and feel like I belonged underwater, and that’s why I pushed myself to my limit in this film.

I trained myself to be able to handle whatever these guys could throw at me. When there is an entire crew waiting for you to nail a shot, you do not want to be the fool to get it wrong, I respected their time and effort and therefore they respected my attempt at being a human dolphin for them!

There are a million thank you’s I’d love to give, but I just want to say that if this movie gets appreciated half as much as it deserves I’d be a very happy man. Blue has created a new Bollywood dimension and no matter what the outcome may be, I take my hat off to everyone who made this insane movie come true. Even when it got rocky, Tony my friend, you made the waters calm...

Love,
Yours Akshay...

Monday, August 24, 2009

Legs of steel...

Hello my people…

Today I am exhilarated, I am in love with life, I am writing to you after a hilarious day of shooting with Sajid Khan and my wonderful co-stars, Ritesh, Arjun, Lara and Deepika, who after shooting the first song of our movie, are now only singing one song repeatedly, and that’s ‘He’s such a Loser’, and it is directed only at me. I am playing a Loser of all Loser’s, and the crazy director that Sajid is has made a song to make all idiots in the world feel like absolute idiots, (even then, compared to me, they're probably still cooler than I am ;o( … I love his ideas, he’s afraid of nothing, he has so much faith in me its scary. And we are cracking ribs on this set. Problem is I have to keep such a straight face in this film that I have bitten my bottom lip almost down to the bone ;o)….
But why I am smiling from ear to ear is for the strangest reason. At the moment we’re shooting in east London, and on the way home we hit severe traffic, so my fitness freak trainer says “why don’t we run the rest of the way home and see if we can beat the car!!” Then my driver lays a bet down that WE would reach the hotel before them, so of course the bet is on. So on come the trainers and boom we’re off on some 5mile run at 10.30 at night. We pass all the other cars with my co-stars,the producer, choreographer and director, as they sit there watching their lead actor running through the streets of London wearing a suit and trainers, going “what the hell is he doing, he’ll get mobbed.” As you must be knowing London is full of Indians and Arabs and all kinds of Asians, so running down Oxford street became some what of a mission. Guys were running after me trying to figure out if what they had just seen was true, “was that Akshay Kumar?” Then even more people started saying “who, who”, so by the end I felt like half an Indian army were running behind me, and asking me to come home for dinner. It was heart warming for sure. I love my people ;o) In no other culture have I ever seen a bigger heart than an Indian heart...
So if any of you out there reading this were there that night, I salute you, you ran like true fans and I respect you for that. Plus you gave me a brain wave, I’d never want to stop seeing you all, but the running was way too much attention for any man to handle. So!! I bought a couple of mountain bikes and now I’m cycling from the set to my hotel, through the middle of ancient London and by the time people see my ugly face I’m gone, before they’ve even got there cameras out. I don’t mean to be rude, but if I stopped every couple of metres to say hello to everyone, I’d never break a sweat, and your hero would be a fatty on a bike and then no one will be wanting my picture ;o)… Now I cycle miles through Hyde Park everyday, I love how many people no matter what their age, are in the Park come rain or shine doing some sort of fitness, from tai chi, to football, cycling, running, Frisbee, rugby. Even the army brings recruits to train in the Park, there’s horse riding, swimming, dog walking, and even cricket. It’s truly exhilarating, I feel great, with my lungs burning, my legs killing, and I’m not alone, you have hundreds of people trying to become as fit as you are… Every city needs a Hyde Park, but what I loved was how many Sikhs I saw riding bikes, and Hindu’s walking in their lovely Saree’s enjoying their morning exercise. It gives me such a warm feeling knowing my culture and my people are living it up in all corners of the world… So anyone out there whose struggling to keep fit, I recommend buying a bicycle, and just ride around, forget about your stresses and just breathe in the air that surrounds you, what’s holding you back? Believe me a happy body gives you a happy soul ;o) so be happy, give your heart a reason to pump, remember a wasted day is a day without laughter, so laugh your hearts out, be Exhilarated!!!!.........

My Love and prayers
Always
Your Akshay X

Friday, July 17, 2009

The Battle Is Over...

Hello Everyone…

Three down, two more movies to go this year, I almost feel like a cricketer, if I Hit two more wickets this year India’s won, and if I don’t then I think I’m off the team, ‘He He’ ;o) I’m only kidding, I aint going anywhere,coz right now I’m so happy and tension free. If you saw a picture of me two weeks ago, I looked like someone had put a gun to my head and was being forced to create world peace… But now, post ‘Kambakht Ishq’ I look like I’ve been on holiday, I haven’t, but at least I look like I have. I feel great, my audiences have given me a Huge Hit, I’m back to my funny usual self, meaning I’ve put my head straight into another movie, yes wait for it, Sajid Khan is back with an almighty bang. We’re into our 4th day of shooting ‘House Full’ in oh so sunny England, (seriously it rains here more than Bombay, no wonder Londoners get depressed…) I have to say even in the rain Sajid Khan is probably the funniest Indian on the planet, I can’t tell you much as its too early into the film, but he’s already made one of the heroines fall out of a window, he’s made me destroy an entire living room and lets just say there was a parrot on set, but he doesn’t flap anymore…

It’s so cool here in London, no wonder there are so many NRI’s here, there’s a cinema on every corner, beautiful parks, loads of restaurants, and I know I’m a guy but the shopping is wicked, my family is having a ball. I’ve been taking my wife and son to Hyde Park everyday, even Aarav trains with me at 6 o’clock in the morning. We’ve hired out mountain bikes, we’ve been conditioning on the monkey area in the kids adventure playground, he loves it here, there’s so much to do… Even though I’m buzzing with excitement, diving head first into a new movie is not an easy task. I sat one whole day with Sajid and the writer to get the feel of my new character, we didn’t move from the room for 10 hours, we just ate curds to keep us alive. We just went over and over on how we’re going to entertain our audience in a bigger and better way than before. Sajid has worked solidly on this movie for 2 years now since he directed ‘Heyy Babyy’, Now it’s up to me, Ritesh D, Lara D, Deepika P, and the rest of the nutty gang to deliver Sajid's enthusiastic genius comedy timing on screen. So the pressure's back on but we’re all loving it. The stories you're all gonna hear about what we’ve been getting up to on the sets will be hilarious enough let alone the movie at the end of it…

But for all of you who are living in Bombay, be safe, stay inside when the storms are bad, stock up on food, and take care, the rains are God’s way of feeding us, just be careful…

Much love and care,
Your Akshay…

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Kambakkht Hit!

Whoo Hooo… Yippeeeeee… I’m So Excited And I Just Can’t Hide It, No No No No No, I don’t Know What To Do But I Think I Like It ;o)…

I know I must sound drunk right now but honestly I’m not, I’m just so high on life and it’s all because of youuuu!!! To Everyone out there that has supported me, and made this recording breaking Block Buster Smash Hit come true for me… I want to thank you all for your faith, love and support that you have given me, I’m sorry it’s taken a year but I’ve finally given you a Hit that you are hopefully as proud of as I am. I also want to thank you all for not listening to the negative critics, you have made my entire career this weekend and I owe you many hours of entertaining for years to come for you to feel my genuine thanks. For words cannot describe how happy we all are because of you, our fantastic fans who stood by our movie through all it’s madness and spice, despite what some people are trying to do to it, and for judging the movie for yourselves, it makes us all really proud when our own audiences makes the final decision…

Bollywood is back in Business, lets roll on the hits for everyone this year… ;o)

God Bless you all
Love your
Akshay Kumar

Kam-Back finally!!!

Hello Everyone…

Whoo Hoo rains are finally here, so no more garden parties for me for a while, thank you God!!! Not that I’m complaining, but I think even if the Queen of England asked me to one I think I’d have to pull a sicky I’m afraid. I talk too much in my films to have to talk off screen so animatedly as well… Speaking of screens what are you doing reading my blog, you should be at the cinema watching ‘Hangover or maybe this other really funny movie Kambakkht Ishq’... Did your mother ever tell you ‘laughter is the greatest medicine for the heart,’ unless you die laughing of course and then it’s not so funny :o(
I know none of you right now can tell but if you could see the anxious slightly constipated look I have on my face you’d all laugh at me, not with me ‘at me’… This whole release thing is worse than a marathon, I swear, I mean I totally agree that marathons are like the longest race’s in the world but even they get over, this has just been the slowest week ever…I thought Chandni Chowk’s release was tense what with all the wonderful things that were (Not) being said but this has been positively tense. Releasing your own movies is like being asked to dig your own grave, it’s slow and painful and you don’t know when anyone’s gonna kill you off…
I know I definitely owe my wife another holiday for sure…
So for those of you who have seen my movie let me know what ya think…I like to know where my people are at!!! And if you haven’t then don’t make me come over with a pair of nunchaku, get out there and let me feel your vibes, I swear I’m only doing all this promotion so you can hopefully enjoy yourselves (Oh and so my producers can earn their money back of course or I’d be out of a job and you’d be bored on a Friday night.)
But I must say I’ve had an overwhelming response to ‘K I’, I just hope we can make the world proud of Indian cinema that’s all. I think we’ve all been through a lot this year from strikes to recession to depression, (or is that only me!!) So I hope I’ve somehow got it right this time… And I wanna say I thought ‘New York’ was Fab, John, Neil and Katrina acted very well I was extremely impressed with their film, to the point I was on holiday in New York and took my family to see it…
Oh and congratulations on being Gay in India, I thought the day would never come, I’m relieved you can all love each other freely now, it’s not like it was a secret or anything but I’m glad you don’t have to live in fear anymore. Gay Ho!!!

Love and Prayers
Yours stressfully
Akshay ;o)

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Battle of the Sexes begins...

Hey Everyone…

WooHoo!!! It’s definitely been a ‘Party’ week for me… For all you cinema goer’s out there it’s time to find your Friday outfits again because Bollywood is back with a bang…
It’s been an uplifting week; let me tell you, from my mother in-laws surprise birthday bash to the ending of the multiplex battle, it’s been exciting I must say.
But now it’s time for the beginning of the real battle, for here comes the most controversial gender movie since umm ‘Dostana’ I think, I’m talking about ‘Kambakkht Ishq’… Yes ladies and gentlemen, “The Battle of the Sex’s”. You all know it very well; it’s been the longest war since man kind. Who’s the better sex? Men or Women? Well let me tell you now, I may be releasing a movie where I am playing a typical male chauvinistic pig, who only thinks of “one thing”, and doesn’t care a damn about women’s feelings at all. But I’d like to clarify something here, I am only playing a character, if I really believed men are Gods and women are only good for one thing, do you really think I would be married to one of India’s most wonderful, talented and striving head strong women? No!! I’d be living in a bachelor pad with a fur rug and a dog called Spike ;o) Believe me I am one man who respects women head over heels more than men, don’t be offended guys, you can’t blame me ;o) Not only are women more loyal but God blessed them with the power of giving birth, and I respect his decision, coz I know for sure no man could ever go through what women go through. And after them putting us wonderful men here on this planet we dare to take their freedom of speech or belittle their gender, Jesus what were we thinking? Seriously because if I ever saw a man mistreat a woman, he’d wish he never woke up that morning…

Lets face it both sexes are equally annoying and equally right in the own way, that’s why we do eventually get married, so for those of you who aren’t Gay then you all know deep down you can’t live life without the woman that you love, be it your wife or your mother, even if they do make you do the dishes!
Here’s something I’d like you all to try for me, after reading this get a paper and pen and write down what you are finding hard or irritating in your relationship and sit down with your partner and make them do the same. Try and list 10 things about each other, don’t shout, don’t be demanding just calmly talk about how you can make your love life that much more incredible, because trust me, the be all and end all of all relationships always comes down to one thing, lack of communication, because there is always one who gives more and one who takes the other for granted, apparently it’s called human nature. Try it out, let me know how it goes, I wanna hear your feed back.
And also it’s Dimple Kapadiaji’s birthday on the 8th of June so please say a prayer for her, we just threw her the surprise party of the century, it was the most wonderful night ever, and I normally hate parties, but there was such a lovely turn out, and it’s always great to see your co-workers drunk and disorderly on the dance floor… So here’s to my lovely mother in-law, many happy returns of the day and here’s to my industry, it’s finally back in business, lets hope we can make our audiences as proud of our movies as we are…
Good Luck with your lists to your loved ones... And Remember ‘Movies are Movies’, please don’t take them personally…

Love and Prayers Always
Akshay Kumar…

Sunday, May 24, 2009

The new Robin Hood of India!

Hey Everyone…

It’s me the new Robin Hood of India, I rob from the rich (producers) and give to the poor (my staff), Hehe!! I’m kidding, seriously, it’s comments like these that get me in trouble ;o)…

So did you guys read about my ever so exciting capture by the police, and my wife’s surrender story over my ‘Unbuttoning incident’… My life sounds like a scene out of C.S.I Miami right now I swear, this year is definitely going down in the book of ‘Who framed Akshay Kumar’…
The STORY goes something like, I land back in Bombay and within seconds I’ve had our famous press calling up and reporting that I’ve been captured by the police after running away coz of my supposedly “obscene Levi’s ramp walk”, and my wife has apparently surrendered herself out of fear for her husbands captivity. Listen I understand journalists need to sell their papers but guys you can’t make a fool out of your readers, that story was worse than a ‘C’ grade drama serial... When all that really happened was I came back and drove to the Police station myself, signed some papers, joined my hands, wished them all a pleasant day and went home to my family, it was as boring as that… But instead I’ve been made to feel like the Bad Boy criminal of Bombay for the first time in my life... Now I just need to get a pair of green tights find a bow and arrow, change my name to Robin Hood and I’ll officially be the loved outlaw…

Haha and do you know what I later found out, the guy that placed this ridiculous complaint against me, has actually filed numerous other pointless case’s against other celebrities also. Well I hope he’s happy and has enjoyed his fair share of desperate attention, was it really worth it man…

Now with all that nonsense behind, I want to talk to you about something very serious.

Some of you may already know but one of Bollywood's best make-up artists has just been through a spine chilling horrific experience, I don’t want to delve into it too much out of pure respect for her. But her ordeal should be a wake up call for all of us. Bless her, she was tortured so badly, I was choked up so much when I heard what had happened to her, the whole industry should be thankful she is still here with us now. This brave lady has literally faced death in front of her very eyes, and she is such a wonderful woman, so nice, she’d never hurt anyone. See, life’s not safe, it’s not fair, it’s scary and unpredictable. People of India please start being more careful, if I read one more rape or murder case in out city I think I’ll cry.. Why can’t Mumbai adopt something from Singapore! The crime rate is so incredibly low there, and it’s only because of the “Death Sentence”. It’s given for a lot of severe crimes, no joke, people are even too scared to spit on the street there for fear of being arrested… Now I can’t change the law, but I can advise all of you, especially the women of India to please learn self defence, murderers don’t train to become killers, they just get up and commit sinful acts, but you yourselves can train to kill if necessary if you are ever faced with such vicious humans… Dear God I’m not saying carry a gun, I just think you should all know how to defend yourselves and run before it’s too late and your loved ones are having to explain to your children or your partner that you suffered coz you didn’t know how to fight back… I didn’t learn martial arts to be some famous dude, I trained because the discipline was something I didn’t want to live life without… Tonight please think about how your going to protect yourselves and your family, take care, and live life like you care about it…

Love and Prayers to all of you
Akshay…

Friday, May 8, 2009

Be a Joke!!!

Hey everyone…

What an eventful week it’s been…
Being a man of many physical talents, by god I met my match this week; I have never fallen on my ass so many times in one day I swear… You know at the back of my mind I’ve always wondered what is going to be ‘that’ thing in life I’m gonna find unbelievably difficult??… Ha Ha, I’ve found it… Coz I’ve always used my determination, talent, and hard work to get me through everything. Well on this particular stunt all I needed was the perfect technique and tons of luck… Well have a guess; I had neither of those on my side this week… So what is it that Akshay Kumar found so hilariously hard to do?? Ladies and Gentlemen it was Water Skiing…
Yes, there’s me standing on my board, never done it before in my life, my director Priyadarshan has given me half an hour to practice and then expecting me to give a shot of a life time… Well surprise surprise, water skiing ain’t that easy, it looks so graceful and easy and killer cool to do, you know, anyone could do it. Well I’m sorry, I was so so wrong, it’s ridiculously harder than it looks and so much funnier. I jumped on my board ready to fly off and maybe even produce some somersaults off the ramps, but HELL NO… I fell off that thing quicker than anyone could say ‘Singh is Kinng,’ It was more like Singh the belly flop king…
When my head came out of water I had to force myself to stop laughing and get back on the board before Priyanji saw his hero’s face down and bum up in the water ;o)
So back up I go, needless to say it took a few more times than first expected to nail this thing, but by lunch not only had I cracked it, I was carrying the incredibly beautiful and brave Katrina Kaif on my back whilst whizzing round on this thing like it was second nature. And that’s when you know you’re a good actor, when you’re made to do something that technically scares the crap out of you but you smile for the shot and make everyone think AHH they’re so in love, then the minute you hit the water at mega speed there’s no smile, just a battered body that’s praying for the shot to be OK’d so you can brush yourself down and appreciate dry land again. So I must say hats off to Katrina, she did extremely well, not many heroines I know would have tried and succeeded as much as Kat did, well done girl…
As you can tell I’m still shooting in Singapore for De Dana Dan, the Famous
Priyadarshan is the fastest film Director on the planet. The man doesn’t believe in taking your time, he’s a ‘Wham Bam Thank You Mam, next shot please’ kind of guy. We’re in the last week till pack up, and then back to my beloved Bombay… I haven’t been there since my very tame Unbuttoned Lakme Fashion Show ;o) so fans wish me luck!!!
Hey did anyone see “X-Men Origins Wolverine”? Amazing movie, haven’t seen that kind of cinema since Batman the Dark Knight… Hugh Jackman is definitely one of the most multitalented actors I’ve ever seen. Did you see him hosting the Oscars? I’ve never known a Hollywood actor apart from Will Smith that could sing/ dance/ joke/ be merry/ with the nut cracking sarcasm of a gentleman. He really does deserve the best actor; I can’t help but respect him…
Well young ones, until my next adventure, take care and “only laugh at others when you can totally laugh at yourself” That’s all I can say…

Love and Prayers
Your Akshay; o)

Monday, May 4, 2009

Be a SPORT!

Hello my friends,

Firstly I’d like to apologise for the long gap, I’ve recently been in South Africa shooting for the second season of Khatron Ke Khiladi Fear Factor in Cape Town, as well as trying to juggle my time with dubbing for Kambakht Ishq, supporting my Delhi Dare Devils at the IPL, taking my entire family on Safari whilst preparing myself for some insane stunts for my show. Thank god I’m much better at juggling 5 extreme events than I’ll ever be at juggling 5 balls… Speaking of balls I’m now in Singapore filming for De Dhana Dhan… But the second I landed what was the most important thing to me - My IPL! So I called up my producer and said I don’t care where I stay even if it’s in the back of a kitchen, I need to watch my IPL. Bad news, my hotel didn’t have the channel ;o( So what else can I do but personally find the hotel manager and fold my hands in humble request and plead and plead for what ever it takes to please get that channel. Can you imagine by the next day I was sitting in my room watching KKR vs PKXI, happy is not enough to describe how I was feeling… And wow what a season it’s been, seriously I wish the best for all the teams, you have me on the edge of my seat, and I’d like to send my best regards to ShahRukh Khan’s Knight Riders, they’ve put up a good fight so don’t worry boys you will always be loved. And Preity Z she has a tremendous fighting spirit which I must say I adore, she makes us all proud. And dear Shilpa what a come back after the first match, Shane Warne and Yusuf Pathan have carried her team well, keep smiling Shilpa…

While we’re on the subject of sports, as much as I love my cricket, my family has many sporting talents in them, my little girl Simar loves basket ball, and she’s won matches for her school already. But seeing like most sports in India (unlike cricket) it doesn’t have that much funding or backing. So I did some research that I’d like you all to check out. Look up the “Harlem Globetrotters” they are an American basket ball league that have taken everyone by storm, they are incredible at basketball but there’s a twist, they go around performing the funniest comedian tricks in the arena which just leaves you with your mouth open in awe, seriously! Please check it out, coz I feel that not being a world champion at a sport doesn’t mean you cant hold a place in peoples hearts with that sport, those guys are champions but it ain’t always about winning, it’s the taking part… So as I sign off, remember you don’t have to be the Best to be Great, you just have to want to get up and take part in something. For a simple example look where it’s got Shilpa, I remember when she didn’t know the difference between a wicket and a stump, now she owns half a team. And my daughter Simar may not be in the NBA yet, (she’s only 9) but she tries and strives to be.
So people Be a Sport, wake up and try a Sport.

With much love and support

Your Akshay…

Friday, April 17, 2009

My Family...

Hi guys,

As promised I'm back. My whole purpose of being present on the internet was to connect with you guys and share everything about my life.

Hence I would like to start off with introducing to you all, my family without whose love and support I would have never made it.

At home, I share my life with my wife, Tina, my son, Aarav, my mother, Aruna Bhatia, sister, Alka, little niece, Simar and of course my dogs, Stitch and Okie.

At work, I am dependent on my key staff members, who have become family to me...

My driver, Ravi
My trainer, Jennifer
My manager, Lokesh
My executive assistant, Zenobia.
My assistant, Nitin
My hair dresser, Milind
Make up artist, Narendra dada.


I hope to continue sharing about my life and family with you here, until then take care.

Love,
AK.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Greetings...

Hi guys,

Though I'm not the most computer friendly person, I've heard this is the best medium to interact with fans. So here I am, trying to acquaint myself with the internet. I'm a quick learner but till then please be patient with me. Though I cannot really put a time line in place, I promise to write as regularly as possible.

Love,
AK.