Akshay Kumar said he felt like slapping himself for restricting his early career to action roles.
He broke his action-hero image to transition into diverse genres like comedy, intense drama, and social cinema.
Kumar said he wants to release four films a year for the betterment of Hindi film industry.
Akshay Kumar Regrets Doing Action Roles For Decades: 'Felt Like Slapping Myself'
Akshay Kumar regrets being stereotyped solely as an action hero early in his 35-year career. Kumar also defended releasing four films annually to support the Hindi film industry.
Summary
Actor Akshay Kumar has established himself as an action hero and is often called "Khiladi Kumar" after the success of the Khiladi film series. In his career spanning over three decades, he has headlined some of the iconic action films, including Khiladi (1992), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Mohra (1994), Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014), Baby (2015), and Rowdy Rathore (2012).
Though he is also known for his roles in comedy and social dramas such as the Hera Pheri franchise, Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Garam Masala (2005), Welcome (2007), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Pad Man (2018) and others, his major roles were in high-octane films.
The 58-year-old star regrets doing action movies for decades, calling it a major career mistake he made in his early days.
Akshay Kumar on being stuck with action hero image
Akshay Kumar, who is gearing up for the release of Welcome to the Jungle, felt like slapping himself for spending a whole decade doing only action roles.
In an interview with PTI, the actor shared that he eventually changed his strategy to secure diverse roles and not keeping himself restricted to a single genre.
"Initially, when I came to the industry, I only wanted to make money. But after that decade, when I saw my films, I felt like slapping myself," Kumar said.
"I had only done action roles, and nobody thought I was capable of anything else. I realised that I needed to transform myself, and I wanted to do different characters," he added.
On rebuilding career
To break the image of an action hero, he focused on constantly dismantling and rebuilding his professional identity to avoid being stereotyped.
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He started pursuing roles in romance, social dramas, and horror comedies.
Focuses on doing more films
Akshay is one such actor in Bollywood who believes in doing multiple projects a year. He wants to work every day and says it's his duty "to do at least four films so that there is more work and business in the industry."
"Hits and flops are part of the business, but I have to deliver, I have to go to work, and that's what I have been doing," he said further.
Welcome to the Jungle is releasing on June 26, 2026. He also has Haiwaan and Hera Pheri 3 in his kitty.
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