‘Galat content’ reason behind Akshay Kumar’s films flopping at the box office, says exhibitor Manoj Desai

Mumbai-based veteran film exhibitor Manoj Desai, who owns one of the most iconic theatres in the city — Maratha Mandir — has spoken up about why he thinks hit-machine Akshay Kumar has served three back-to-back flops this year — Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj and Raksha Bandhan. Desai also owns Bandra’s Gaiety Galaxy, the cinema hall which is one of the greatest crowd-pullers for mass, masala films.
Talking about Akshay’s films flopping at the box office, Desai, in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, said, “Content galat, subject galat (the content of his films is not good enough)”. He then recalled how Kumar had visited Gaiety before the release of Bachchhan Paandey and added, “Picture banai, kya banai? Kya kar rahe hai? (What film has he made, what is he doing?)”

Desai also spoke about why he thinks Aanand L Rai’s Raksha Bandhan did not appeal to the masses. “Aapney (Akshay Kumar) Raksha Bandhan banai usmai public bilkul satisfied aapkey content se nahi thi. Ussi tarah Laal Singh Chaddha ke content se bhi public bilkul satisfied nahi thi (The public is not satisfied with films like Raksha Bandhan and Laal Singh Chaddha).”

Desai also suggested that no actors should indulge in political commentary, which according to him can affect their films. He said, “Koi bhi art ko politics nahi karna chahiye (Artes should refrain from making political statements).”
The exhibitor had earlier called actor Liger star Vijay Deverakonda ‘arrogant’, after the actor’s statement about boycott culture, when he said, “Kaun rokenge dekh lenge (we’ll see who’ll stop us).” According to Outlook, after Vijay’s meeting with him in Mumbai, He had praised the Telugu star, and said, “He is a really very nice guy, down to earth, I will keep loving him always. He has got a bright future and I promise here, I will take all his pictures. I wish him all the best.”