Bad is the new good in Bollywood films, says Akshay Kumar

New York: Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who is playing a flamboyant gangster in his upcoming film Once Upon a Time In Mumbaai- Dobara, feels bad is the new good in Bollywood. “I am not trying to glorify a bad lead character in the film. It is just a character I am playing. Not many actors now agree to play a negative role,” said Akshay at a press conference here. “When director Milan Luthria explained the character, just could not help but love it. Bad is the new good. I very much enjoyed playing the beautiful character,” the 45-year-old actor said. [caption id=“attachment_914357” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost[/caption] Akshay replaced Emraan Hashmi as Shoaib in the sequel to the 2010 hit. The character of Shoaib is rumoured to be based on Dawood Ibrahim. The film also stars Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan. Produced by Balaji Motion Picture,the film will release in India on August 15. When asked about his superstar position in Bollywood Akshay said, “It is not a race we are running. We are not horses you bet on. There are lots of films being made in the industry. Everybody gets to do three or four a year so there is lot of work. Nothing can go unnoticed; everybody is a superstar.” Akshay, who last starred in heist drama “Special 26”, believes that he has survived in the industry for so long because he is a producer’s actor. “Surviving in this industry is more important to me. Superstars come and go. I want to make sure I am always a producer’s actor. I may be refused to be called a great actor but I have never troubled any of my producers in my life. Honesty always catches the camera, and that is what my strength is,” Akshay said. The actor said he has focused more on romance than his stunts in “OUATIMD”, and also enjoyed doing action with Imran (Khan) in this film. “He did all the stunts with me and jumped from rooftops, and I was very impressed with him. I think he is the next action hero.” PTI