Akshay gears up for gangster mode

He has just won audiences over with his amusing role in the comic caper, Housefull 2, but Akshay Kumar is ready for a complete makeover. The actor is set don a sombre avatar, albeit strictly on silver screen.

He has just won audiences over with his amusing role in the comic caper, Housefull 2, but Akshay Kumar is ready for a complete makeover. The actor is set don a sombre avatar, albeit strictly on silver screen.

In Milan Luthria’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2, Akshay will play a “quiet, yet brooding” don. The actor’s character sketch will take cues from Al Pacino in The Godfather (1972) and Amitabh Bachchan’s outings in Don (1978) and Trishul (1978).

“I’ve always been very impressed with Pacino in The Godfather and Mr Bachchan in Don and Trishul. And since Akshay’s character in my film is similar, I’m looking at the two iconic actors as initial reference points,” says Luthria, adding he hasn’t taken a final call on the character sketch or Akshay’s look as of now. Luthria, however, is sure of one thing: “In the film, Akshay’s character speaks very little, so you will see a lot of what I call silent power.”

“The film will show how gangsters used to be fond of Hindi film actresses, but the story will be coloured with a lot of fiction,” says The Dirty Picture director, adding there won’t be any wet white sari scene with Sonakshi.“Just because I made The Dirty Picture, doesn’t mean I start thinking ‘dirty’ in all my films,” laughs Luthria. “Yes, there will be some sensuous sequences but it will all be done in a tasteful and discerning manner.”