Has Akshay Kumar slowed down on work? This may seem to some if the gap between releases of his films is any indication. For someone who is known to churn out an average of one film every three months, it is a huge exception to see as good as a six month gap between his films."While Special 26 released in February, his next, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2, is exactly six months ahead. While former arrived on February 8, latter would be coming on August 8, which also marks the festive occasion of Eid", informs a source.
This is in huge contrast to last year when as many as five of his films (Housefull 2, Rowdy Rathore, Joker, OMG Oh My God!, Khiladi 786) released in a span of 10 months. So does this mean that he has chartered a new plan for himself in years to come, now that he has won huge appreciation for his 'acting skills' in Special 26?
"Naah", says a close associate of the actor, "It is just an aberration that there is a six month gap between his films. However, he is neither slowing down nor is he taking a break. In months to follow, he would be almost done with Boss and the remake of Thuppakki. Most likely he would begin one more film in between as well. After the release of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2, his Boss would arrive just two months later in October and post that there would be more releases every three-four months. He is not changing his formula."
This would be a sigh of relief for Akshay fans who are used to seeing him more often in a year when compared to the other top superstars around.
"In fact, during the decade gone by, there have been only two instances when there has been a gap of six months or more between two of his films. While Andaaz (May 2003) and Khakee (Jan 2004) were eight months apart, Garam Masala (2005) and Waqt (2005) were spaced out by a little over six months", an observer adds.
It is different though in 2013. Moreover, with three confirmed releases this year (there are murmurs that Thuppakki too could well arrive before end of year), he is still more prolific than other top superstars who have one or at maximum two releases each this year.