Akshay Kumar hoped Bachchhan Paandey would do better at box office: 'We came in the eye of The Kashmir Files storm'

In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Akshay Kumar has said that Bachchhan Paandey got ‘caught in the eye’ of the storm that is The Kashmir Files.

Akshay Kumar's latest release Bachchhan Paandey did not perform as expected at the box office. At the end of week one, the film had failed to cross even the ₹50 crore mark, a figure much lower than most of Akshay's recent films. The chief reason for this was the boom The Kashmir Files saw at the same time. In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Akshay himself admitted that The Kashmir Files' success affected his film's performance but added that he was still happy about it.

Akshay Kumar during the promotions of Bachchhan Paandey.(Sunil Khandare)

In its opening week, Bachchhan Paandey did a business of ₹46 crore. In the same time, The Kashmir Files minted ₹110 crore, completely outdoing the Akshay Kumar-starrer across territories. The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990. It features an ensemble cast led by Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumaar.

Talking about it, Akshay said, "Firstly, let me tell you I am elated with the success that The Kashmir Files has seen. It tells you the power of cinema and that there is no formula of starting budgets and films of a certain way that guarantee success. It proves that the audiences are who we make our films for and when they lap up something it just flies. Yes, I would have liked Bachchhan Paandey to better than what it is doing but not once do I blame the Kashmir files for it. That film is a storm and we came in the eye of it."

The actor also reacted to the allegations that his recent success is largely based on remakes of South Indian films. He said, "That’s not entirely true, I also do original scripts. Among my upcoming films which are original, there’s Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan, Ram Setu, OMG2 to name a few. Yes there are also some remakes but that’s because these are films I’ve watched and loved and I’m excited to bring to our audience as I feel the market for the same hasn’t been tapped. And it’s not a one-way deal, even South Indian films borrow scripts from our industry. In recent times, my own films like Special 26, Oh My God ! etc. have been remade in the south."

Akshay is set to be seen in multiple films this year. He will first be seen in the title role in the period biopic Prithviraj, which also stars Manushi Chhillar, Sanjay Dutt, and Sonu Sood. He also has Ram Setu and Raksha Bandhan in pipeline this year.