Akshay
Kumar
will
be
working
for
free
the
first
time.
And
thanks
to
Priyadarshan's
father
who
has
provoked
Priyan
into
getting
gritty.
Priyadarshan
broke
down
and
wept
when
his
academician-father
K.V.
Nair,
a
severe
critic
of
his
son's
work
now
ailing
in
hospital,
saw
his
son's
work
in
Kanjeevaram.
"My
father
never
liked
any
of
my
films.
Never.
Not
one.
When
he
saw
Kanjeevaram
he
told
me
for
the
first
time
he
was
proud
of
me.
It
was
the
most
liberating
moment
of
my
life.
I
felt
I
had
achieved
all
I
had
set
out
to
as
a
filmmaker."
And
now
Priyan
intends
to
make
one
film
every
year
that
will
come
straight
from
the
heart.
Akshay
Kumar
won't
charge
the
prolific
Priyadarshan
a
single
rupee
for
the
film
on
AIDS
that
they
will
be
collaborating
over
in
August.
This
is
the
first
time
that
Akshay
has
agreed
to
work
gratis.
Could
it
have
something
to
do
with
recession
and
the
way
the
superstar's
latest
film
has
fared
at
the
box
office?
"None
of
the
above!" quips
the
prolific
Priyan.
"Recession
has
certainly
hit
Bollywood.
My
sequel
to
Malaamal
Weekly
has
been
shelved
because
it's
no
longer
commercially
viable.
But
a
film
with
Akshay
Kumar
or
Shahrukh
Khan
is
certainly
not
endangered
by
recession.
Akshay
has
no
cause
for
worry.
His
fee,
like
mine,
has
to
vary
according
to
the
nature
of
the
project."
Priyan
whose
directorial
charges
are
self-admittedly
Rs.11
crores,
has
opted
for
a
voluntary
cut
in
future
projects
.
"The
price
factor
will
depend
on
the
project.
A
film
directed
by
me
starring
Darsheel
Safary
like
Bam
Bam
Bhole
can't
be
sold
at
the
same
price
as
a
film
with
me
and
Akshay.
At
the
same
time
when
when
Akshay
and
I
are
doing,
a
stark
film
on
AIDS,
we
both
leave
our
negotiating
abilities
behind.
But
when
we
work
on
a
big
project
De
Dana
Dan,
none
of
us
is
buying
the
recession
theory.
I
think
a
lot
of
producers
are
using
recession
as
an
excuse
for
underpayment."
The
AIDS
film
which
Priyan
will
direct
in
August
is
that
one
mandatory
from-the-heart
film
that
director
has
decided
to
make
every
year.
"I've
to
do
those
films
that
I
believe
in
alongside
the
ones
that
the
audience
wants
from
me.
The
AIDS
film
will
be
a
songless
1
hour
50
minute
presentation.
It's
for
a
cause
and
therefore
worthy
of
a
cut.
Even
Paresh
Rawal
is
not
charging
any
money
for
this
film."