Akshay Kumar’s association with films driven by strong nationalistic themes began a few years ago and one such film is ‘Airlift’ which had released around Republic day, in 2016. As Raja Krishna Menon’s critically acclaimed film marks a decade since its release, the director has shared an interesting behind-the-scenes detail that Akshay was not the original choice for the lead role.Menon revealed that his first approach was to Irrfan Khan. He said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “The first actor I approached was Irrfan Khan. It happened through producer Nikkhil Advani. I met Nikkhil as I was told that he was looking for fresh ideas.” Recalling his conversation with Irrfan, Menon added with a laugh that the actor responded, “Raja, it’s a great script, but your vision is Hollywood. But with me, you’ll not get money to make anything close to your vision.” At the time, Menon assumed Irrfan was simply turning the film down politely.However, budget concerns soon surfaced from another quarter as well. Menon shared that producer Nikkhil Advani echoed similar thoughts and encouraged him to consider a bigger star. “Nikkhil also suggested that I should approach an A-lister. He and Vikram Malhotra (co-producer) met Akshay for some other project. During that narration, Akshay asked if they had any different and exciting scripts. That’s when they told him about Airlift.” Menon went on to explain how the meeting came about, saying, “He asked for a narration. Nikkhil told me, ‘I know you are considering Irrfan, but please meet Akshay.’ I was unsure, wondering why any big Bollywood star would work with me. I was a bit scared and uncomfortable.”Despite his reservations, Menon eventually met Akshay Kumar and the rest, as they say, is history. Recounting the moment, he said, “Nevertheless, I met him. 40 minutes into the narration, he told me, ‘Chalo, banate hai picture.’ (Cool, let’s do it). I couldn’t believe my luck!”Interestingly, Nikkhil Advani had earlier shared that it was Irrfan himself who nudged them towards Akshay, firmly believing the film needed a bigger budget. Speaking to Galatta Plus, Nikkhil recalled, “Airlift’s director Raja Menon wanted Irrfan, which was fine for us because he was working on D-Day. I told them I would set up the meeting with Irrfan, and Irrfan overheard me. He told me, ‘Boss, mere sath mat kar ye picture (Don’t do this film with me). It is a fantastic film but don’t do it with me because you will not get the budget. Go to Akshay. You know Akshay.’”Nikkhil also recounted his first interaction with Akshay regarding the project. He said, “So, I went to Akshay with another film, and he called that rubbish. Then I narrated Airlift and told him that Irrfan didn’t want to do it.” According to him, Akshay questioned the decision, asking, “Why have you come to me then?” Nikkhil explained, “I told him, ‘You can’t do it because it is a very serious film and you will have to memorise all the lines, and the director Raja Menon wants to do workshops.’”Despite the reservations, Akshay was keen to take it on. Nikkhil concluded, “He told me that he wanted to do it. I told him Raja doesn’t want you, but Akshay did the film. He sat for workshops after workshops.”
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