Classy Akshay Kumar trades blows and prank tales

With a background studying martial arts in Hong Kong, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has been a hit with producers who want to pack their action movies with death-defying stunts and heart-stopping fight sequences.

The Amritsar-born actor had taken a recent hiatus from the rough and tumble of action films with the likes of ‘Desi Boyz’ and ‘Chalo Dilli’ but with his current smash ‘Rowdy Rathore,’ on screens in the UAE now, he’s back trading blows with countless assailants. He plays Shiva, a small-time conman who falls for Priya (Sonakshi Sinha), a girl he met at a wedding he crashes.

The couple’s love story is interrupted, though, by criminal gangs out for his blood and a deadly secret he stumbles upon.

Now 44, Akshay admits getting back into the thick of it was gruelling.

“Doing action in India’s insane heat, having big strong men come at you with their fists all day, having to get up every morning knowing I was going to have to fight another 20 men was not easy even when I was 24 let alone at 44,” says the father of one.

“But what an experience, even if only my son comes to me and says ‘Dad you kicked ass’ I’ll be the happiest man in the world. This was not an easy shoot by far and I’m not afraid to admit that.”

Fans will be happy to know that a few aches and pains have not put paid to Akshay’s daring edge when it comes to stunts - and even the odd prank. He recalls an incident on location in Hampi when he was in policeman costume and mustache.

“I saw a couple on a motorbike not wearing helmets, so being the prankster I am, I pulled them over, they had no clue who I was, I started asking for his driver’s license, the wife was crying and beating him from behind,” he says.

“I removed my moustache and as she screamed with excitement I had to beg her to stop hitting her husband, poor guy.

“I think the wife’s words were ‘I could arrest her any time’ on that note I introduced them to Sonakshi who was still hiding, laughing her head off.”

'A BUNDLE OF JOY'

As one of the more curvy Bollywood beauties, Sonakshi Sinha has been under pressure to lose weight.

Akshay has told his co-star not to bow to the badgering. “Sonakshi doesn’t need to lose weight, she just needs to tone up a bit. She has a fantastic Indian body, perfect for her role in ‘Rowdy Rathore’. Everyone knows men like to be able to pinch more than an inch, it’s no secret. She doesn’t need to look like the rest, that’s what makes her Sonakshi, she’s her own heroine. She’s a bundle of joy to be around.”