Akshay Kumar: Family First

Learn English with Akshay Kumar’s speech. At Startup2018, Ms. Ritu Marya spoke with Mr. Perfect Akshay Kumar about what startups can learn from his journey from ground zero to being a superstar. A professional actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema, Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia is an Indian-born naturalized Canadian. Over the course of his acting career, Kumar has appeared in more than 100 films and won several awards, including a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards.

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Akshay Kumar “Quote”

“Work is work, but family is for life. That’s what really matters to me.”Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar | FULL TRANSCRIPT:

“The most important thing is take care of your family, take care of your parents. The strength lies in your family. Your family is your first priority. This is what I believe and I have.

Host: I write about start-ups and I write about entrepreneurs and they have perhaps some of the toughest times when they build their businesses. You’ve done the same grind, too, as an actor. So you know, you started your life from ground zero. And today, I mean, I was reading Architectural Digest and they said you’ve got the most beautiful home in Mumbai today. So, what’s it been like to go from ground zero to right up there where it matters?

Akshay Kumar: Yes, it’s been a hard journey and it’s been a different kind of experience. I don’t know from where to start from to answer your questions, it’s going to take a lot of time to talk about it. My formula has been a very different kind of formula. I’ll tell you something. Yes, my hard work is a lot. In my film industry, I’ve been working hard since last 28 years now. I’ve finished about 130 films. And now, I’ve now become a producer. Since last 10 years, I’ve been producing films like Waqt, Namaste London, Singh is King, Airlift, Baby, Special 26, and Stone and even Padman also.

I always wanted to bring… You know, the most important thing of my life has been that I wanted a change. Every time, anybody tries to put an image on me, I have always jumped to some other image. I never wanted to be in one track because I always think a change is the most important thing in anybody’s life. Because if the person can change himself, he can do many different things. Like I started doing romantic films, I started doing… I have done a villain’s role. I’ve done so many kind of different kind of roles. I didn’t care about it. I just went and did changes. So, I just would like to say that change is the most important thing.

But on top of that, I would bring one thing, whether you believe it or not, but this I will share it with you guys that my success lies a lot in my parents’ feet. I’ll tell you why. My… whenever in the morning, whenever I go to work, I always touch my mother’s feet and go ahead. Trust me, it has made so much difference in my career, in my life. I have been saved by so many people who… like, a lot of negative energies I have been saved from. But that is the fact. Yes, obviously, the hard work is the most important thing change is another thing, but to have a positive aura around you, and that only your parents can bring you. Not even God, it’s only your parents who will bring your positive aura around you and care for you.

I like to deconstruct; when I construct myself completely, then I look at myself. I want to break it. I want to break this whole image. I want to start another construction and build another one. This is, I would say it is in my mindset, this is what I have followed. I never stick to one particular image. I just want to just keep on innovating myself, undergoing… I know I can be comfortable by just doing commercial cinemas like Rowdy Rathore or Housefull or this kind of films, but I just want to deconstruct myself. Even when I did 2.0 with Rajnikanth sir, I’m playing a villain’s role. Lot of people ask me, “Why do you need to play villain’s role?” Why not? What is wrong? So, I just need to… I love to deconstruct myself, that is it, ma’am.

Host: Sure. So, you know, I also see that you’re probably the complete man of the industry. You know, you’re so busy, you do four movies as you said. And yet, you make sure that you always spend time with your family and you always have time for holidays. And I see start-ups who just get so engrossed with their work that they completely forget that they have families back, they have parents, they have children, they have wife, sister, you know. So, how do you make sure that you balance it out?

[read more]Akshay Kumar: See, I’ll tell you, that is why the first thing when I started talking about it, I said the most important thing is take care of your family, take care of your parents. That is the most important thing. The strength lies in your family. The positiveness lies in your family. I work a lot. I work hell of a lot. But it is nothing. I divide my work. I always take… Whatever in my life I want to do, I do it with maths. I calculate it. I’m doing four films a year. I’m doing about four movies a year. One movie takes about 35 to 40 days. I don’t work… Saturday, I work only 7:00 to 2:00. Two o’clock in the afternoon, I’m off. Saturday, two o’clock onwards, I don’t work. Sunday, I don’t work. Monday, I start working. I work eight hours a day. But in that eight hours, I am on the set. I don’t move away from the set. I don’t go sit in my vanity van. I tell my producer, my director, that I am here. You make me work. Eight hours is good enough. Because after eight hours, you know, because I have to be in front of the camera. I have to look good. I did one and a half month of holiday with my family every year. Continuous. I just put the globe in front of my wife and ask her, “I’ve worked a lot. You tell me where you want to go.” I do that.

So basically, what I’m trying to say is, all you have to do, you have to look at your family, you have to look at your priority. Your family is your first priority. This is what I believe and I have always done it and I would suggest you, your family is your first priority. Once the priority is set properly, once they also know, okay, my husband or my father, or my brother will after working, he will come and he’ll spend all his time here. Perfectly fine. Nothing can go wrong with you guys. Nothing can go. It’s a tried and tested thing, which I have done it. I have even told a lot of people and my colleagues, I have told them. And I have seen changes coming to them.

Host: I love the fact that you say that you have some extreme discipline and that you follow it and it’s worked for you. Bollywood is known to party. It’s about fun. It’s about excitement. So, how do you make sure that your entire teams, your producers, your directors, co-actors, everybody’s in tune with you, they’re in sync…

Akshay Kumar: Because when they are working with me, the agreement is so strong that they have to come early morning properly timed. Otherwise, the agreement will get, you know…

Host: It’s a good thing to be in a position where everybody sort of…

Akshay Kumar: No, it is not… Even a small producer can do it. It is not that impressive because if you are taking a chance and if you’re… I always believe, I always tell everybody, I am an actor who’s a producer’s actor. I believe, what the producer says I have to do it. And it is important, he is my boss. But yeah, some of the cases, I myself am the boss of myself.

Host: You know, one thing I like about the Bollywood industry and I think which all industries need to learn, is that money cannot be taboo.

Akshay Kumar: Money?

Host: You know, money cannot be taboo. You cannot grow your business or yourself without money, having your businesses, your products making money. So, you know, what I would want you to message out to start-ups here today, is that making money is really important. I see money has become somehow a third or a four-year plan after the start of business. You know, making money is important.

Akshay Kumar: I was working, I did films for 50,000 rupees. But for… I think, a long time, say for 10 years, I worked not more than about 10-12 lakh rupees a movie.

Host: Now you’re the 10th highest paid star in the world.

Akshay Kumar: So now, but then, I have worked hard for it and it is not necessary, let me say, you don’t have to run behind money first. You have to run behind your product first, you have to run behind the quality first. And after that things will change, you will realize it. And I think that I have done like that. So, I cannot tell them any other way.”[/read]

Akshay Kumar

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