Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bhoot Bangla’ Falls Short of Audience Expectations
Comic timing and the age factor are both problematic in the new Priyadarshan film
Twenty-six years ago, Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan came together to create the classic comedy Hera Pheri, with Akshay’s comic timing contributing the extra lift. But that seems to be missing in their latest project — Bhoot Bangla hasn’t been received well.
Also, Akshay has aged, and it shows. Casting him with Wamiqa Gabbi, who is half his age, doesn’t help. The glaring age-difference between the two is a major problem in the audiences’ perception. Says Bihar’s leading exhibitor Roshan Singh, “Every time they are seen on screen, the audience passes comments like “Abhi tak yeh umr ka faasla itna nazar nahin aata tha (the age difference wasn’t so glaring till now). Lekin abb Akshay Kumar ka umr dikhne laga hai (Now Akshay looks his age).”
And for more unintended incongruity, 48-year-old Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta plays 58-year-old Akshay Kumar’s father.
“The actors of Telugu, Tamil and Hindi cinema wish to remain forever 40. So even when they are 55-60, they won’t work with actresses who are 40-45. I remember wanting to cast Raveena Tandon opposite Sanjay Dutt in Department. He told me to get someone younger,” Ram Gopal Varma reveals.
