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Akshay Kumar is one of the busiest and most prolific actors in Bollywood. He is known for doing several films in a year across different genres. Back in the early 2000s, he made a film that, over the years, has earned the label ‘so bad it’s good.’ That film is the fantasy-action thriller Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani, released in 2002.
There’s a very interesting behind-the-scenes story regarding Kumar during the shoot. Let’s explore the details.
Akshay Kumar’s Character Arc
Akshay Kumar played the role of Atul in Jaani Dushman, a film directed by Rajkumar Kohli. The film had an ensemble cast including Sunny Deol and singer Sonu Nigam.
In one episode of Koffee with Karan Season 7, Kumar spoke about doing a “7 hero film.” The actor revealed that he was getting paid by the day for the film. His shoot was supposed to be over after the character was killed by the villain.
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As per TOI, Kumar said, “I was on a per-day basis. I was being paid by the day, and when the villain killed my character, my shoot went over. I have to thank the other hero, who was scheduled to start shooting but got stuck in New York. When I got to know about that, I went up to the director and asked him, ‘Main vapas aa jaun?’ (Should I come back?). The director told me, ‘Your character isn’t dead. He’s alive, he’s in a coma’.”
Kumar returned to the shoot, and his role was rewritten. The character comes back from a coma and fights the villain in the film. Kumar used the money from the film to buy a house.
He said, “I shot for another 5 days and earned more money. I was in an urgent situation with the house that I wanted to buy, the one I live in. The money that I earned from Jaani Dushman, I went and gave to the guy who was selling the house. Jaani Dushman gave me the flat where I stay right now.” The other actor who did not show up for that day was Sunny Deol.
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This news was confirmed by Arshad Warsi in an interview with The Lallantop. Warsi said that the climax fight scene between Kumar and Armaan Kohli was not in the original script. He also insisted to the director that Kohli kill off his character first.
More About Jaani Dushman
Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani is directed by Rajkumar Kohli, who also wrote it with Naveena Bhandari. The film starred Kumar, Warsi, Sunny Deol, Manisha Koirala, Sonu Nigam, and Aditya Pancholi, among others. It was released in 2002 and was a critical and commercial failure.
According to MensXP, over the years, the film has managed to fall into the category of so-bad-it ‘s-good. Sonu Nigam did not venture into acting after the failure of this film.
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