Like Salman, Akshay Kumar should take his films more seriously!

Akshay Kumar is one of the biggest stars in the country, who commands a huge following amongst the masses. In fact, at one point in his career (Welcome, Singh Is King days), his films used to take record openings.

But the opening day numbers of his latest release ‘Baby’ has shocked the trade. The Akshay Kumar film has taken a ‘below average’ start at the box office, which has led to questions being asked about his stardom and whether he still commands the following that he once did.

Baby was always projected as a sleek, action thriller from its promos. While the trailer was well-received, the decision to release it as early as the first week of December backfired big time. To sustain the buzz after the trailer launch, makers of other films release song and dialogue promos every week. In Baby’s case, there were no newer ‘units’, as the film did not have songs. Sources say, the makers were confident about the content of the film and that word-of-mouth would help it grow into a success at the box office. Adding promotional numbers would have created a disconnect with the content and genre of the film. Even the song that was added at the last moment, featuring Esha Gupta, did not do much for the film.

The other reasons why Baby did not take a good enough start could be because Akshay Kumar over-exposes himself and also the fact that he doesn’t take film marketing too seriously. On an average, he has 3 to 4 releases every year which leads to an overkill for the audience. This could be one of the biggest reasons why Baby, promoted as a film from the makers of Special 26, received tremendous reviews from almost every critic and was also touted to be Akshay’s finest performance to date – but the initial did not do justice to its content.

Akshay could have something to learn from Salman Khan here. The superstar also went through a similar, if not worse, phase in his career not too long ago. There was a time when his films released and the multiplex audience simply did not turn up to watch his films in theatre. The turning point for him was when he decided to be more serious about his career and also changed his PR team. Reshma Shetty, Salman Khan’s celebrity manager, the founder and MD of Matrix India Entertainment Consultants is regarded as one of Bollywood’s new iron ladies. She is best known for transforming Salman Khan into a brand that takes his films and fans very seriously.

Akshay Kumar has a great year ahead. From a commercial entertainer (Gabbar) to an action-emotional drama (Brothers). While we continue to hope that ‘Baby’, already touted as an under-performer by the trade, grows over the next few days and eventually crosses the 100 crore mark, we also hope that Akshay takes his upcoming films more seriously.