Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Tashan is an irreverent pastiche done right. The film attempts a heady fusion: channeling the flamboyance of Manmohan Desai, the kinetic energy of Guy Ritchie and the stylized bravado of Quentin Tarantino, all filtered through the wit of Salim-Javed. But it failed to make an impact at the box office after its release, since it was also one of the most anticipated. Star-studded projects that ultimately failed to live up to expectations at the time.. And as he bombed, the reaction was relentless. The film was trolled mercilessly and Acharya recently revealed that amidst the growing hostility towards the film, Akshay Kumar stood steadfastly by his side even when the mood of the industry became volatile.
In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, Acharya reflected on that period and said, “As a commercial film, it was below average and I think there was quite a bit of criticism. The only person who, on the day of release, called me and then kept asking for the front foot film was Akshay. I remember him calling me and saying, ‘It doesn’t matter, I will do your next film, or whatever you want to do next.’ It’s sad that I couldn’t do another film with him, but that’s the kind of support he offered. Obviously, Aditya Chopra (producer) also offered massive support.”
Vijay Krishna Acharya said that Akshay Kumar prepared extensively for the role and proved his critics wrong.
Akshay Kumar silenced his critics
Talking more about Akshay Kumar and the sincere and entertaining performance he gave as Bachchan Pandey, Acharya noted that Akshay proved many of his critics wrong with the role. “I thought he brought a quality to that character that is fabulous. In fact, he beat a lot of his worst critics in that film because it’s a genuine performance, completely from the heart. For all the people who have any kind of criticism about it, I can only say that I enjoyed every day working on it. I loved it. He came to read with me, he knew his lines. The Ram Leela scene, the way he did it, all of that is fabulous.”
Acharya also revealed that Akshay’s casting came at the suggestion of producer Aditya Chopra. “It was Adi’s suggestion. At first I wasn’t sure, because I think I had written it very based on Uttar Pradesh and all that, so I had an image of the character, but I didn’t have an actor in mind.” Recalling his first meeting with the actor, Acharya said Akshay’s conviction left a lasting impression on him.
“When I met Akshay and narrated it to him, it was quite remarkable, both during and after the film, for me personally. I remember during the narration it was long and he said, ‘You know, just tell me the story.’ And I said, ‘No, it’s a film where the dialogue is written; a lot of this is going to be about that.’ He heard everything and said, ‘I’m making the movie.’ He even said, ‘I would have made the movie if you had told me the name of the character. “I would have done it only for Bachchan Pandey.”
Watch the Cult Comebacks episode on Tashan here:
In the same conversation, Acharya also spoke about working with Anil Kapoor, who played the film’s antagonist, and reflected on the commitment of seasoned actors. “The beauty of all these guys, especially the old school ones, and I later witnessed this with Mr. Bachchan as well, is that they really only focus on the film, the script and the effort you put in. I used to go to Anil Kapoor’s house and read the script almost every day for a couple of months. Then I made some CDs for him and Akshay, which they listened to just for the dialect. This is something we come across often. Mainstream film criticism or ‘The Actors’ conventional, somehow the method of acting is left in the hands of other people and these actors simply do their lines. I had the opposite experience.”