He was very irritable: Farah Khan recalls working with 'difficult' Akshaye Khanna

Filmmaker Farah Khan said actor Akshaye Khanna was once very difficult to work with. On the Dance Masti podcast, she shared that he was very irritable on film sets and that changed after Dil Chahta Hai.

In Short

• Farah Khan said Akshaye Khanna was once very difficult to work with
• She recalled that the actor was very irritable on film sets
• Farah said Akshaye changed after Dil Chahta Hai and praised his work in Tees Maar Khan

Farah Khan has recalled that Akshaye Khanna was once "very difficult" to work with and that there was a phase when he was "very irritable" on set. The filmmaker expressed that she saw a shift in him after Dil Chahta Hai, and described him as "too good" while working with him on Tees Maar Khan.

The confession came on choreographers Bosco and Caesar's podcast Dance Masti. The conversation later turned playful as Farah and Caesar spoke about the actors they had to work hardest with.

Speaking to the dance choreographers, Farah said, "At one time, Akshaye Khanna used to be very difficult to work with." She added, "I have done Doli Saja Ke Rakhna with him, then a couple of other movies, Laawaris and something else. He, I think, himself has confessed in interviews that he was very difficult. He was very irritable and wouldn't want to stand."

Farah then spoke about the change she felt came in Akshaye after Dil Chahta Hai. "After Dil Chahta Hai, he had a transformation, I think. In Tees Maar Khan, he was too good. He is actually a very good dancer. But I was very clear that I don't want to work with artists who are irritating," she said.

During the podcast, Caesar also asked Farah, "For which actor did you have to work the hardest?" When Farah asked him to answer the question himself, Caesar named Abhishek Bachchan. Farah responded by saying that Abhishek is a very good dancer.

Caesar replied, "I never said he is a bad dancer." Farah then added, "He tires me out. He is fun-filled. He wants to keep wandering. He teases people and things around him."

Caesar also recalled an incident from a shoot, saying, "I was shooting with him outside Gateway of India when he brought a bucket of cold water in the middle of the night and poured it on me. He is a prankster." He then told Farah, "But you didn't name the bully," and she responded, "But I got you to name."

Akshaye Khanna in recent discussion

Farah's remarks come amid renewed interest in Akshaye's work. His performance in Dhurandhar drew a strong reaction on social media. In the franchise, he played Rehman Dakait, who was a Pakistani gangster from Karachi's Lyari neighbourhood.

Though he was not seen much in the second instalment, his presence was missed. His exit from the Drishyam franchise after Dhurandhar sparked quite a buzz.

The actor was later seen in the courtroom thriller Ikka on Netflix. His next major theatrical release is the mythological action-adventure drama Mahakali, which is scheduled to release on January 8, 2027.

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