Akshay Kumar is being savagely trolled for what was meant to be his his “ferocious” , “valorous”, “chivalrous” act as the legendary 12th century warrior Prithviraj Chauhan.
Going by the reactions to the trailer Akshay’s performance seems to have misfired badly .
Innumerable netizens have compared Akshay’s Prithviraj(there is a strong opposition to the ‘Chauhan’ being dropped from the film’s title) with his burlesque period drama Housefull 4 where he had played Bala,a banished prince from the 15th century,eliciting peals of laughter for his costumed over-the-top act.
Tragically that is not the sur required to play Prithiviraj Chauhan.A revered iconized ruler like Prithiviraj Chauhan has been reduced to a caricature, at least in the trailer.
Sources in the know reveal the experienced director Chandrapraksh Dwivedi had asked Akshay Kumar to work on his voice and body language before taking on the responsibility of playing Prithviraj Chauhan. But a scarcity of time and initiative landed Akshay on location without preparation.
The result is for all to see.
Interestingly, Sunny Deol was Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s first choice for the role of Prithviraj Chauhan. When they were shooting the underrated Mohalla Assi in Varanasi five years ago, Dwivedi and Deol had long discussions on Prithiviraj.
A well-informed source reveals, “They had even discussed the look and voice-quality of the character. Then what happened? Then Yash Raj Films happened to Chandraprakash Dwivedi. They wanted a more saleable hero than Sunny Deol. What we are seeing and the response to Akshay Kumar’s Prithiviraj act is just karma catching up.”