Bollywood
superstar
Akshay
Kumar
believes
the
unsung
heroes
of
the
country
deserve
praise
for
their
service,
which
he
says
is
the
highlight
of
his
upcoming
release
Bell
Bottom.
In
the
1980s-set
spy
thriller
based
on
true
events,
the
53-year-old
actor
plays
an
intelligence
agent
with
codename
'Bell
Bottom'
who
spearheads
the
mission
to
rescue
210
hostages
from
a
hijacked
Indian
plane.
Asked
if
unsung
heroes
are
the
new
face
of
nationalism
via
movies,
Kumar
said,
"Cinema
does
play
an
important
role
in
showing
nationalism."
"It
is
essential
that
we
tell
everyone
about
these
people
who
do
so
much
for
the
country,
the
risk
they
take.
I
am
glad
I
got
the
opportunity
to
be
part
of
'Bell
Bottom'
which
is
about
an
unsung
hero," the
National
Award-winner
told
PTI
in
an
interview.
Bell
Bottom
joins
the
long
list
of
Kumar's
films
which
blends
high
octane
stunts,
synonymous
with
the
actor's
action
star
status,
and
patriotic
fervour
following
titles
like
Holiday,
Baby,
Airlift,
Kesari,
and
Mission
Mangal.
“With
this
film,
I
would
like
the
audience
to
see
and
understand
the
life
of
an
agent,
who
are
unsung
heroes
and
how
they
work
selflessly
for
the
country
without
expecting
anything
in
return.
And
how
he
goes
unnoticed.
It
is
a
great
life
and
people
should
know
about
them," Akshay
told
PTI.
When
asked
about
his
views
on
nationalism,
the
actor
said,
“What
I
believe
about
nationalism
I
show
it
on
screen
through
films
and
that
is
what
I
want
to
say
about
nationalism.”
"As
the
contribution
of
many
heroes
goes
unnoticed,
it
is
imperative
they
are
celebrated
through
films,
he
added.
"They
are
the
unsung
heroes
and
even
if
there
is
more
glorification
being
shown,
then
I
don’t
see
any
problem
in
that.
I
feel
it
shouldn't
be
less,
if
it
is
more
than
it
is
ok.
They
deserve
praise.”
It
is
not
that
he
enjoys
playing
unsung
heroes
more
in
cinema,
said
the
actor,
who
averages
three
to
four
movies
a
year.
“I
enjoy
every
space.
I
have
played
this
man
who
stands
in
support
of
women
in
Toilet:
Ek
Prem
Katha
and
Padman,
an
out-and-out
comedy
role
in
Houseful
and
then
played
a
transgender
in
Laxmii.
So,
I
have
not
restricted
myself
to
playing
particular
kinds
of
roles.”
For
Bell
Bottom,
the
actor
said,
he
has
tried
to
make
the
character
a
bit
glossy
to
make
it
entertaining
for
the
audience.
“The
film
is
about
this
mission
and
how
these
men
saved
the
lives
of
several
people.
These
undercover
agents
are
very
normal
people.
They
are
not
like
James
Bond,
they
do
things
in
a
very
raw
and
real
manner.
Like,
my
character
is
not
someone
jumping
from
one
building
to
another.
Since,
this
is
a
real
story,
things
are
done
in
a
logical
way.
But
we
have
tried
to
make
it
a
little
big
and
commercial
(by
adding
some
fantasy).
However,
80
per
cent
of
the
story
is
real,”
Kumar
added.
Bell
Bottom
happens
to
be
the
first
film
to
be
shot
amid
the
pandemic
last
year
and
Kumar
is
grateful
to
the
producers
for
shooting
the
film
during
COVID-19
in
the
UK.
"We
didn’t
face
any
difficulty.
The
credit
goes
to
the
producers
to
take
the
crew
of
more
than
200
people
to
shoot
over
there
but
with
all
the
necessary
protocols.
They
took
the
risk
to
do
something
unbelievable,”
he
said.
It
is
also
the
first
Hindi
movie
to
release
on
August
19
in
3D
and
2D
after
the
second
wave
of
the
coronavirus
pandemic.
Though
cinema
halls
in
many
parts
of
the
country
have
reopened
with
50
per
cent
capacity,
Maharashtra,
which
contributes
a
major
chunk
to
the
overall
business
of
Bollywood,
continues
to
remain
shut.
But
for
Kumar,
the
bigger
joy
is
the
arrival
of
Bell
Bottom
on
the
big
screen.
"It's
been
two
years
and
we
haven’t
seen
anything
in
theatres.
It's
about
time
that
people
come
to
watch
movies
but
with
necessary
protocols
as
suggested
by
the
government.
We
just
hope
it
never
closes
down
again,”
he
said,
adding,
he
hopes
cinema
operations
resume
in
Maharashtra
too.
His
other
film
Sooryavanshi,
a
cop
drama,
is
still
awaiting
theatrical
release
since
March
2020
but
Kumar
said
there
is
nothing
much
that
he
can
do
in
the
current
scenario.
"We
don’t
know
what
is
going
to
happen.
I
don’t
have
any
answer.
I
am
not
the
only
one
facing
this
difficulty,
everyone
in
the
industry
is.
There
are
so
many
people
who
are
facing
such
big
difficulties
and
my
difficulties
are
nothing
in
front
of
them," Akshay
told
the
news
agency.
The
actor
also
has
films
like
period
drama
Prithviraj,
musical
romance
Atrangi
Re,
action
comedy
Bachchan
Pandey,
comedy
drama
Raksha
Bandhan,
and
action-adventure
drama
Ram
Setu
in
the
pipeline.
"Prithviraj
is
ready
and
if
all
goes
well
then
it
should
release
during
Diwali,"
Kumar
shared,
without
divulging
details
about
his
other
movies.
Directed
by
Ranjit
M
Tewari
and
written
by
Aseem
Arrora
and
Parveez
Shaikh,
Bell
Bottom
also
stars
Lara
Dutta,
Vaani
Kapoor,
Huma
Qureshi,
and
Adil
Hussain
in
key
roles.
The
film
is
produced
by
Pooja
Entertainment
and
Emmay
Entertainment.