‘Akshay Kumar Is Our Thanos’

‘The
uniform
really
makes
you
feel
powerful.’


Rediff.com‘s
Mayur
Sanap,
Hitesh
Harisinghani,
Afsar
Dayatar
report
from
the

Sky
Force
trailer
launch.

The
new
year
begins
for
Akshay
Kumar
with

Sky
Force,
which
brings
him
back
to
his
patriotic
high
jinks.

Akshay
and
debutant
Veer
Pahariya
joined
Producers
Dinesh
Vijan,
Amar
Kaushik,
Jyoti
Deshpande
and
Director
duo
Sandeep
Kewlani
and
Abhishek
Anil
Kapur
to
launch
the
trailer
for
their
film.

“My
father
was
in
army,
so
it
is
in
built
within
me.
The
uniform
really
makes
you
feel
powerful.
I
donned
the
navy
officer
uniform
in

Rustom
and
have
played
army
and
cop
roles
before.

Sky
Force
is
special
because
I
am
wearing
the
air
force
uniform
for
the
first
time,”
says
Akshay.

The
superstar
opened
up
on
his
not
so
great
streak
at
the
2024
box
office.
Films
like

Bade
Miyan
Chote
Miyan,
Sarfira
and

Khel
Khel
Mein
failed
to
generate
any
buzz,
with
only
his
cameos
in

Stree
2
and

Singham
Again
being
the
two
exceptions.

“It’s
not
that
it
has
happened
for
the
first
time
in
my
career.
It
has
happened
before
too.
The
best
part
is
you
keep
on
working
hard.
That
is
what
I
tell
myself
or
if
anyone
talks
to
me
about
it.
I
say
the
same
thing
that
you
have
to
keep
working
hard,”
asserts
Akshay.

Sky
Force
is
about
India’s
‘first
and
deadliest
airstrike’
on
Pakistan’s
Sargodha
airbase
during
the
1965
War
and
features
Akshay
and
Veer
as
IAF
pilots.

When
a
reporter
asks
Akshay
if
there
was
any
feeling
of
insecurity
while
working
with
young
talents
like
Veer,
the
actor
says
he
prefers
to
stay
true
to
the
film
and
not
worry
about
the
rest.

“I
don’t
have
any
fear.
This
film
required
him
(Veer)
and
he
got
the
part,”
Akshay
adds.

“We
have
to
be
true
to
the
film,
nothing
else.
If
the
film
requires
somebody
new,
why
not?
Let
me
tell
you,
the
film
is
about
him.
You
have
just
seen
the
trailer
and
I
like
the
whole
film,
love
the
screenplay,
that’s
why
I
took
part
in
it.
It’s
not
about
what
is
my
role,
it’s
only
that
the
film
is
good
and
that’s
why
I
am
in
it.”

VIDEO:
Akshay
Kumar
talks
about
his
dry
spell
at
the
box
office…

Veer
mentions
he
was
given
the
acting
opportunity
with

Sky
Force
after
having
worked
at
Maddock
Films
for
four
years
as
an
assistant
director.

While
introducing
Veer
on
stage,
Akshay
fondly
predicts
that
the
newcomer
has
a
“great
future”
in
the
industry.

“Akshay
sir
was
so
kind
and
welcoming
that
he
broke
the
ice
in
one
second.
From
then
on,
we
became
great
friends.
He
became
an
elder
brother
to
me
and
guided
me
throughout.
We
worked
on
the
scenes
in
different
ways.
I
really
had
a
blast,”
says
Veer.

VIDEO:
Veer
recalls
his
first
day
at
the

Sky
Force
shoot

Sky
Force
sees
Veer
being
paired
opposite
his
rumoured
ex-girlfriend
Sara
Ali
Khan,
who
plays
his
wife.

Speaking
about
their
equation
during
the
shoot,
Veer
says,
“Sara
was
very
sweet
and
helpful.
She
has
a
lot
of
experience
in
the
industry
already,
so
she
did
help
me
a
lot.
I’m
very
grateful.
Thank
you
Sara.”

Maddock’s
Dinesh
Vijan,
who
delivered
one
of
the
biggest
hits
last
year
with

Stree
2,
speaks
about
the
alleged
creative
slump
in
the
Hindi
film
industry
and
the
rising
popularity
of
South
films.

“Maybe
we
don’t
speak
a
lot
about
ourselves
but
the
fact
is
we
have
had
five
huge
films
doing
over
Rs
500
crore
(Rs
5
billion)
business
since
the
pandemic.
Just
Maddock
Films,
or
Jio
Films
are
not
enough
to
run
the
industry.
I
have
gone
to
the
South,
they
have
been
very,
very
encouraging.
If
we
just
start
looking
at
it
like
an
Indian
film
industry,
maybe
we
can
achieve
more,”
he
says.

VIDEO:
Dinesh
Vijan
On
The
Box
Office
Performance
of
Bollywood
Movies…

Quizzed
about
the


Maddock
content
slate
for
the
next
three
years,
Dinesh
says,
“Sky
Force
is
our
first
with
Akshay
sir,
hopefully
many,
many
more
in
the
future.”

When
the
producer
is
asked
if
Akshay
will
now
be
a
part
of
the
third
instalment
of

Stree,
Dnesh
calls
him
‘Thanos’
of
the
supernatural
universe.

“Of
course!
You
didn’t
see
the
last
shot
(in
Stree
2)?
He
is
our
Thanos,”
Dinesh
says
with
a
smile.

Sky
Force
will
release
in
theatres
on
January
24
ahead
of
Republic
Day.