The
shocking
downfall
of
Nikhil
Advani's
Chandni
Chowk
To
China
has
put
a
huge
question
mark
on
Akshay
Kumar's
ongoing
comic
journey.
Most
of
his
well-wishers
in
the
industry
seriously
wish
him
to
end
his
protracted
attempts
at
comedy.
Says
a
director
who
has
worked
with
Akshay,
"Akshay
Kumar
has
become
progressively
active
in
the
process
of
writing
scripts
and
shooting
films.
He
freely
makes
suggestions
some
of
which,
I've
to
admit,
are
good.
But
quite
often
he
wants
to
take
over
the
project.
When
I
went
to
him
with
another
project
he
offered
to
co-produce
it
and
get
someone
to
re-write
portions.
It's
obvious
a
lot
of
scenes
in
Chandni
Chowk
were
re-written.
The
result
shows."
Apparently,
the
Chandni
Chowk
To
China
writer
Sridhar
Raghavan
was
persuaded
to
continuously
change
the
scenes
until
the
writer
(known
for
his
skilled
screenplay
in
Raj
Santoshi's
film)
was
a
helpless
puppet
propelling
the
plot
to
destinations-unknown.
However,
Akshay's
staunch
producer-director
friends
are
more
than
happy
to
stand
by
him.
Akshay's
next
crucial
release
Kambakht
Ishq
has
very
little
of
the
comic
element.
"It's
an
out-and-out
rom-com
with
stunts
of
an
international
order," informs
producer
Sajid
Nadiadwala
proudly.
"And
why
are
we
jumping
the
gun
just
because
one
of
his
films
hasn't
lived
up
to
expectations?
There
could
be
so
many
reasons
for
it.
Why
should
Akshay
be
blamed
for
it?
Why
so
much
negativity
about
him?
Is
he
the
first
superstar
to
disappoint
audiences?"
Sajid
shoots
down
rumours
of
seriously
revamping
the
comic
element
in
Kambakht
Ishq.
"Why
would
I
do
that?
The
film
is
what
it
is.
I
don't
work
with
my
actors
based
on
how
their
last
film
did.
Kambakht
Ishq
will
have
a
lot
to
offer."
However,
on
the
downside
Akshay's
pairing
with
Kareena
Kapoor
has
hardly
ever
worked,
their
last
few
films
being
Suneel
Darshan's
Talaash,
Dharmesh
Darshan's
Bewafaa
and
Yash
Raj
Films'
Tashan.
Vipul
Shah's
film
with
Akshay
Kumar
and
Aishwarya
Bachchan
which
he
launches
in
March
is
also
not
a
comic
romp.
"But
I
don't
think
the
failure
of
Chandni
Chowk
To
China
means
that
audiences
have
rejected
him
in
the
comic
avatar.
The
backlash
is
totally
uncalled-for.
And
it
looks
motivated
by
reasons
other
than
the
box-office.
A
lot
of
people
have
been
waiting
to
pounce
on
Akshay.
This
is
their
opportunity," Vipul
Shah
defends
his
hero
stoutly.
It
is
believed
that
apart
from
Priyadarshan's
De
Dana
Dan
which
is
an
out-and-out
comedy,
Akshay
Kumar
forthcoming
projects
will
seriously
cut
down
or
downplay
the
comic
element.
"It's
the
Govinda
factor
at
work
again," says
a
director
who
wants
to
remain
unnamed.
"He
did
so
much
buffoonery
on
screen,
Govinda
made
people
forget
there
was
more
to
him
than
meets
the
eye."
Story first published: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 15:35 [IST]