A lot has been said about Akshay Kumar’s career graph in the last two years. The superstar has seen a number of flops at the box office, which made many feel that he has lost his charm. However, in a conversation with IndiaToday.in, his film Khel Khel Mein’s director Mudassar Aziz compared the actor’s bad phase to a cricketer who is out of form, and insisted that his class remains intact even during such times.

Aziz discussed his experience of working with him and how Akshay feels about the negative discussions around him online. He revealed that he has been in talks with Akshay for the past three years, ever since he conceived the film. Aziz also revealed that his relationship with Akshay goes back over 30 years. The filmmaker further added that the superstar pays close attention to what is being said about him.

“It all started when I was a young boy and went to watch Garam Masala in the theatre and laughed my heart out. From then to knowing him personally and now working with him, it has been a wonderful journey. Also, he is an extremely sensible, intelligent and aware person. It’s not like such things don’t reach his ears, it does happen. He is not someone who casually ignores it. It may not determine his next choice, but he pays attention to what is being said about him,” said Mudassar Aziz.

He added, “There is a very important saying in cricket, ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent’. Every time a cricketer is in bad form, the whole nation gets together and tells them what they should or should not do. But you can’t take away their talent and soon their class comes to the fore. We had no doubts about Akshay, and now with Khel Khel Mein, he is back to comedy, batting on the wicket on which he has scored so many centuries. He is back to entertaining his audience the way they like it.”

Mudassar Aziz also revealed what he has learnt from Akshay Kumar – a quality he feels everyone should imbibe. “He considers success and failure as part of the same process. He doesn’t treat them as separate entities, and that is commendable,” he said.

The director also revealed that not just Akshay but the entire cast of Khel Khel Mein fell in love with each other during the shoot. “We didn’t have to ask them to be friends as the friendship was already very good before the shoot began. We have a WhatsApp group and we keep sharing reviews, posts and even memes on it and keep laughing about it. The entire experience was very satisfying. Also, none of us dare to claim that we have made a good film because we were confident and proud of our product.”

After Khel Khel Mein and Stree 2, Akshay Kumar announced his next comedy project Bhoot Bangla, which marks his comeback with Priyadarshan.