Akshay Kumar: Back in the limelight

Actor Akshay Kumar, who will be seen in a full-fledged action film Rowdy Rathore after almost seven years, says he feels like a newcomer and is very excited about getting into the action mode again, reported IANS.

The film, slated to release on June 1, has been directed by Prabhu Deva and stars actor Sonakshi Sinha opposite Kumar.

“There is a lot of excitement. After seven years I am doing action again. It was because of action that I came into this industry and I am getting a chance to do it again. I am feeling as if I am a newcomer who will be doing action for the first time,” the 44-year-old said at the Rowdy Rathore promotional event.

“I started my career with action. So, action is always going to be very close to my heart. It is in me and that is all I am going to do until I die,” added Kumar, who has previously acted in action films like Khiladi, Mohra and Sangharsh.

Although Salman Khan has chosen action films like Ready, Bodyguard and Dabangg recently, Kumar refuses to draw any comparisons between himself and Khan. “We work in the industry together. We are not race horses. I don’t compare myself to anyone. He is my friend. He does his work and I do mine,” the actor said.

Behind the scenes

In the film, Kumar plays Rowdy, a small-time thief who finds a young girl on his doorstep one day claiming to be his daughter. After recovering from the shock, he starts investigating the girl’s claim and discovers that she is actually the daughter of a police officer Vikram Singh Rathore who is Rowdy’s long-lost twin. From then onwards, the film is a combination of gangsters, murders and a case of mistaken identity.

Kajal set to romance Akshay Kumar

Lady luck definitely seems to have a special place in her heart for Kajal Aggarwal. This year, she’ll be seen in some of the biggest projects in Telugu and Tamil including films opposite NTR, Pawan Kalyan, Ram Charan Tej, Vijay and Suriya. The latest news is that she has finally signed her second Hindi film.

After making her debut in Singham where she played the lead role opposite Ajay Devgan, she got plenty of offers; however, she rejected most of them.

Almost a year later, she is all set to romance Akshay Kumar in a thriller titled Special Chabbis. Neeraj Pandey, who had earlier made A Wednesday, is going to direct the film.

Apparently, Special Chabbis is based on a real-life daring heist in 1987 where an unknown man posing as CBI officer Mon Singh recruited 26 men and executed a daylight raid on the Opera House branch of Tribhuvandas Bhimji Jewellers in Mumbai, and disappeared with jewellery worth lakhs.

Kajal is the only actress in the film amidst 26 men and the buzz in Bollywood is that Akshay Kumar recommended her for this film. She will reportedly join the film’s sets from March 1 onwards. With such big projects in her kitty, there’s no denying that 2012 is turning out to be quite a fruitful year for Kajal.

Akshay, sexiest actor I've worked with: Asin

Akshay Kumar knows how to charm his co stars. Ask all his co-actresses and they will have nothing but praises for him. Latest to join the bandwagon is Asin.

Asin can't stop raving about her Housefull2 costar. "Akshay Kumar is the sexiest actor I have worked with. Shooting with him is loads of fun because he keeps you on your toes all the time."

Revealing the naughty side of Akshay, Asin said, "I love his straight-faced sense of humor. He acts so innocent that you really don't expect him to play any prank on you. He is a prankster. You have to be really careful about your phone when he is around, he'll just whisk it away and do crazy stuff."

Apart from that the actress praises Akki for his extreme professionalism and dedication towards his work. "Akshay is an early morning person and so am I. He is a very disciplined and professional actor. He has a particular time to go to bed. He gets up early in the morning and reports to work on time. He wraps up on time... There's much to learn from him."