Akshay's baby handling lessons

By: Upula KBR, Mid-Day
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Even a reserved actor like Akshay Kumar talks non-stop when the topic is his son Aarav or babies. Here's a chat with Akshay on Aarav, the baby in his next film Heyy Babyy, and deep-sea diving in Thailand.

Role relativity

Akshay Kumar says when producer Sajid Nadiadwala narrated the story of a womaniser who is transformed after coming in contact with a baby, he instantly agreed to do the role. "I could relate to the subject of Heyy Babyy. It's the transformation of a flamboyant flirt called Aaroosh (Aarav's pet name) when a baby comes into his life."

Akshay has gone through everything that a normal dad does - from changing Aarav's diapers to feeding him. "When Aarav was born, I was introduced to the world of milk formula, baby diapers and baby talk. It was a different but wonderful experience. I have incorporated some incidents from my life in Heyy Babyy, like buying proper milk food and other things," Akshay smiles.

Having gone through these experiences Akshay has one admission, to make. "Who ever thinks it's easy bringing up a child had better think again! It's much harder than acting in a film." According to Akshay, the real superstar in Heyy Babyy is baby Johaina. Besides her nurse, she had two doctors and an inspector from the Sydney government to ensure that she was treated well on the sets!

"Johaina would get to sleep four hours a day and whenever she wanted to, even in the middle of a shot! When she was sleeping we couldn't talk on our cell phones. In my 18 years of experience, I have never worked like this. She had such a wonderful time," laughs Akshay.

Family entertainer

He recently got Aarav's name tattooed on his back while in Sydney. "Yes it was out of love and is too personal to talk about," says Akshay shyly. Akshay loved working with close buddy Sajid Khan, who directed the film. "I've known him for the last 22 years. We started out as struggling actors and met for the first time while doing a show called Togo Fogo in Shanmukhananda Hall.

Sajid is a complete entertainer and knows how to woo the audience. He can make you laugh for 24 hours." Akshay feels Heyy Babyy is a film for family audiences. "I will take my grandmother and Aarav to see Heyy Babyy. It's a film for all ages and we can sit and laugh together while watching it."

Queued up

Besides Heyy Babyy, Akshay has Bhul Bhulaiya, Welcome, Tashan and Nagesh Kukunoor's supernatural thriller. Recently he went to Thailand to train for deep-sea diving for an untitled film produced by Ashtavinayak. "Though deep-sea diving is something that I have done but this was different. It involved hardcore training under 50 feet of water. It was a fantastic experience. It's a beautiful world underwater," enthuses Akshay.

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