Action is easy, comedy toughest: Akshay Kumar (Interview)

He has proved to be a 'khiladi' of both genres - action and comedy. But kicking and boxing in front of the camera is far easier than making the audience laugh, says Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

"Action is easy, it is very easy. Comedy is difficult," Akshay told IANS in a chat on the sets of Neeraj Pandey's "Special Chabbis". After a shot, the 44-year-old relaxed in the balcony of an old-structured house in Connaught Place here.

"You know...you can kick your legs, punch someone very easily and do action. In fact, action can even look great through camerawork. Also, for an emotional scene, you can put glycerine in the eyes and make any artist cry, and the viewers think he is crying, so people also start crying," said the actor, looking fit and smart in trousers, a shirt and sleeveless sweater.

"But to make someone laugh, you have to work very hard. It's very difficult to make people laugh. So comedy is tough...the toughest," he added.

Akshay became the undisputed action star of Hindi films with projects like "Khiladi", "Sabse Bada Khiladi", "Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi", "International Khiladi", "Waqt Hamara Hai" and "Mohra".

In 2000, he tried his comic timing in the hit movie "Hera Pheri". It was followed by others like "Garam Masala", "Phir Hera Pheri", "Bhagam Bhaag", "Welcome", "Singh Is Kinng", "Housefull" and "Tees Maar Khan".

"Nothing has changed about comedy. People enjoy what you give from the heart. Don't try and go by the trend. Go with your heart and mind...if you do your work with sincerity, it will always work," said the actor who has done about 100 films in his 25-year-old career.

"The audience only enjoys an entertaining film. See, the black and white film 'The Artist' is the talk of the town. Who knew that a black and white silent film would come in 2012 and do so well and take away the Oscar?

"So if you make a film with your head and heart, it will always have a connect with the audience," said Akshay, who is now awaiting for the sequel of Sajid Khan's 2010 comic film "Housefull" to hit the theatres April 5.

"Housefull 2" has been subtitled "The Dirty Dozen", thanks to the number of artists in it.

Apart from Akshay, it has Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade and John Abraham, with Jacqueline Fernandez, Asin Thottumkal, Shazahn Padamsee and Zarine Khan in the cast. They are joined by senior actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor and Boman Irani to complete the dirty dozen.

Unlike most stars who find it cumbersome to work with so many actors, Akshay says the experience was unmatched.

"Multi-starrers are fun to work on. There are so many actors, so many people that you end up laughing and giggling with even during the take. The director gets fed up and says cut, but somebody or the other keeps goofing up or saying something wrong," he said.

"A director needs to have patience enough to put up with all of this. It's a very difficult job to do. But Sajid does it well. Sajid is a mad man, and only he can handle this," he added.

-Radhika Bhirani