Akshay told Shubhankar Mishra that he is doing many films at the same time, each of which require a different look. As an example, he said he’s currently growing a beard that took six full weeks of not working to get to its present length.
Akshay Kumar explains the moustache choice
To be more specific about Samrat Prithviraj, the story called for a certain kind of moustache. He said he simply can’t grow that particular style on his own face. While acting requires changes in how someone looks, he says, being completely true to life has to have boundaries. He admits the fake moustache probably didn’t look very good, and lots of people didn’t like it. And if people didn’t like it, he apologized again.
Samrat Prithviraj, which Yash Raj Films made in 2022, had a lot of publicity beforehand but didn’t do well in theaters. Most of the criticism was about Akshay Kumar’s performance as Prithviraj Chauhan.
People wondered about how he moved and looked in general, and the moustache really became the main point of argument. Many people said it was too fake, and this led to a lot of mean comments online. The difference between how Prithviraj was expected to look and how Akshay looked on screen led to a bigger discussion about who is right to play figures from history.
Why the look drew heat
Mukesh Khanna, an experienced actor, recently added his thoughts. He said Ranveer Singh is very good at many different kinds of roles, from Gully Boy to Khilji, but that some roles require an actor to actually have the right face, as well as being able to act.
He argued that Akshay didn’t look like the ruler when he was standing. He talked about wigs and other things, and compared them to how he himself spent many hours getting into costume for historical movies.
Veteran voice joins the debate
Akshay’s statements show that the moustache was a decision made because of the difficulties of making the film, not because he didn’t want to fully commit to the part. He emphasized the steps of making the film, how long things take, and the technical problems with growing a very particular style of facial hair.
Here’s what Akshay said, in a nutshell:
What his response signals
– The look absolutely needed a very specific moustache.
– He can’t actually grow that moustache.
– He does spend time growing facial hair for his parts.
– He understands the criticism and is sorry.
– It was a decision made by the actors and the make-up artists.
Akshay was most recently in Bhoot Bangla, directed by Priyadarshan, with Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, and Wamiqa Gabbi. The film is currently playing in cinemas.
Akshay being open and honest probably won’t stop people from discussing how real things should look on screen. But, it changes how we think about his look in Samrat Prithviraj; it was a balance between what the movie needed and what is biologically possible. For now, his apology gets the conversation going about how the movie was made and the choices that were made, rather than just the online criticism.
