Akshay Kumar is smarter than Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan: We tell you why!

For someone who was confined to the quintessential 'Khiladi' space (read: action genre) for a very long period in his enviable career, Akshay Kumar has come a long way. The way he has cemented his pos

Published: November 27, 2015 12:40 PM IST

By Prathamesh Jadhav

Akshay Kumar is smarter than Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan: We tell you why!

For someone who was confined to the quintessential ‘Khiladi’ space (read: action genre) for a very long period in his enviable career, Akshay Kumar has come a long way. The way he has cemented his position in the industry and the kind of films he chooses to do can serve as a good role model to look up to. ALSO READ: Akshay Kumar wants Iraq Kuwait war to be part of school syllabus?

After the ‘Khan’ trio that rules the roost, Akshay comes to mind for the command he has over box office collections and the deliverables that only he can promise as a true entertainer. In fact, on that front, Kumar  has scored much higher than Shah Rukh Khan and dare we say…even Salman Khan (Didn’t bhai himself admit Akki’s progress both as a star as well as an actor oh-so-candidly when he appeared on Koffee With Karan?). Here’s how Akki has managed to do what SRK and Sallu couldn’t: ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan- Who is Bollywood’s sexiest dad?

Let’s run through the recent filmography or the last five films Shah Rukh Khan has done. Happy New Year, Chennai Express, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, RA.One. Let’s now comb through the last five endeavours starring Sallu – Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kick, Jai Ho, Dabangg 2. The recurring motifs in these ten movies make the point we’re trying to convey. These movies did promising business at the BO. They all presented the respective superstars in a clichéd and over-the-top filmi way. And none can be categorised as path-breaking films driven strongly by content. What is even more ironic is that there was very little effort by SRK and Sallu to do something even remotely different from what they have been doing for years (perhaps Bajrangi Bhaijaan or RA.One could be exceptions but again, even these films projected them in their glorified or unnaturally modest way)

What has Akshay Kumar done any differently then? Well, for every film like Baby he has done Singh Is Bling, and for every Special 26, he has delivered Brothers. The man has struck a fine balance between commerce and creativity! And now his next, Airlift– a film based on a real-life event which took place in 1990 during the Gulf war. Akshay has executed a simple equation judiciously. If he does film A to help get food on the table (read: to maintain his super-stardom and to keep the cash register clinking), he  makes up for the lack of aesthetics and brains in that one, by promptly doing film B for his growth. Clearly, the endeavour is to push the envelope without forgetting the commercial constraints of the movie business.

At one point, we presumed Shah Rukh Khan would play that game when he impressed us by choosing to do Swades and Chak De India! Alas, the man and his friend-turned-foe-turned-friend-again seemed to have fallen for the trappings of Box Office demands to pave the path for ‘Khiladi’ Kumar to emerge as a star who knows how to..well ACT!

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