- Mohan Kapur praised Akshaye Khanna as a brilliant and talented actor
- Akshaye Khanna may have taken breaks to work on his own terms, says Kapur
- Kapur compared Akshaye’s comeback to enjoying biryani after a long gap
Mohan Kapur opened up about the Dhurandhar duo, Akshaye Khanna and Ranveer Singh. The actor had some interesting things to say about their careers and acting styles.
During a conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube podcast, Mohan Kapur spoke about the recent praise Akshaye has been receiving for playing Rehman Dakait in the Aditya Dhar directorial. While many viewers feel the actor is finally getting the recognition he always deserved, Mohan said he never believed Akshaye was underrated in terms of talent.
“You are right. Akshaye Khanna has always been a very good performer. He's a brilliant actor,” Mohan Kapur said. He added that while he does not know Akshaye personally, he feels the actor may simply have preferred working on his own terms over constantly chasing projects.
“Maybe he is moody, maybe he didn't like the scripts that were offered to him, or maybe he simply wanted to take breaks and work on his own terms,” he shared.
Mohan Kapur also said that sometimes actors choose to disappear for a while and return only when something truly excites them creatively. According to him, Akshaye's recent comeback has had such a strong impact because audiences had not seen him on screen in a long time.
Using a food analogy, the actor explained, “If you eat biryani every single day, after a point, the excitement fades. But if you have it after a long gap, suddenly it feels amazing again. That's what happened with Akshaye Khanna.”
Talking about Dhurandhar, Mohan said he avoided watching the film initially because of the early hype around it. However, when he finally watched it, he understood why audiences were reacting so strongly.
“I watched it alone, and when I came out of the theatre, I understood why people were praising it so much. Everyone in the film did a phenomenal job. It's an extremely intelligent piece of storytelling,” he said.
Apart from Akshaye, Mohan Kapur also had words of praise for Ranveer Singh, who he called “the true chameleon of this country.”
According to Mohan, one of Ranveer's biggest strengths is his ability to completely disappear into different characters while also allowing co-stars to shine.
“There's greatness in allowing someone else to take the spotlight while you quietly carry the film,” he said.
Mohan Kapur even admitted that after watching Band Baaja Baaraat, he mistakenly thought Ranveer would only suit similar energetic roles because of how natural he looked in the film. But later performances in Padmaavat, Gully Boy and Dhurandhar completely changed his opinion.
“He transforms completely. He's a phenomenal actor,” Mohan said, adding that Ranveer is also “a wonderful human being — all heart.”
