“Bollywood Changes Every Three Years”: Akshay Kumar on Competition with Young Stars and the Myth of No.1

Expect Akshay Kumar to wear his stardom lightly and yet again he showed it with a philosophical take on the evolution of stardom and shifting audience tastes during a lively exchange with journalist Rajdeep Sardesai at the India Today Conclave. Saying the Hindi film industry constantly reinvents itself and so must its stars, Kumar passionately spoke about stardom and what it means to reigning stars. 

“Film industry is like a circle. It keeps on changing. After every two or three years, everything changes - the concept, the audience, what they want,” Akshay Kumar said. Drawing a simple analogy, he added, “Taste keeps changing.”

Pointing to recent action spectacles, Kumar cited the success of high-octane cinema and praised younger stars experimenting with darker roles. Referring to the recent blockbuster Dhurandhar featuring Ranveer Singh, he said, “There is a complete action film, the whole film is bloody. People have enjoyed it. He plays a very angry young man.”

At the same time, Kumar noted that trends are cyclical. “Five-six years ago, social films were working. Films like Toilet and Padman did very well. Now the time has come for horror-comedy. We don’t know what audiences will like next.”

When asked whether he ever feels regret watching another actor succeed in a role he could have played, Kumar admitted the feeling is natural but not permanent. “Many times I meet Ranveer and he tells me, ‘I wish I had done that film you did.’ It keeps happening. Someone wants to do that film, someone else wants to do another. There are around 15–20 actors and almost 180 Hindi films get made. So everyone gets work.”

He was more dismissive, however, about the long-standing obsession with rankings and box-office rivalries. “Number one, number two, number three, that is for the racecourse in Mahalaxmi where horses run. We are not horses. We are actors,” Kumar said to loud applause.

According to him, chasing status can come at the cost of personal balance. “With this mentality, you lose happiness. You keep striving to go higher and sometimes you lose your balance. Like I said, live like water. Speak good things, eat good food, behave well - life becomes very beautiful.”