Akshay Kumar in Phir Hera Pheri
Akshay Kumar, who stars in the new release Raksha Bandhan, played the "Blame Game" with NDTV, answering a rapid fire of true and false questions about himself. Among the questions he was asked were two which were based on famous dialogues from Akshay's 2006 film Phir Hera Pheri. "You don't call it film promotions, you call it 'zor zor se bolke logon ko scheme bate dena,'" we asked Akshay. He branded this false, saying, "That's a very famous dialogue, that's a famous meme and in my real life I've never been like that."
The second of the Phir Hera Pheri dialogue-based questions was this: "You are the highest tax payer because you've cracked 21 din mein paisa double karna wala scheme." Akshay Kumar, ever modest, said, "Highest tax-payer, it's an honour to be that. Maybe because I do three to four films a year."
Akshay Kumar, who has had three releases this year already, has been the highest taxpayer in the country for several years now, including 2022. A certificate from the Income Tax Department went viral last month.
The scene from Phir Hera Pheri in which the two dialogues, now enshrined in pop culture, features Akshay's character Raju setting up a con against the character played by Rajpal Yadav. The con involves making millions in just a few days: "21 din mein paisa double (double your money in 21 days)." Only, it requires an investment if Rs 70 lakh, an amount that prompts Rajpal Yadav to cry out in alarm. Enraged, Akshay shakes him, saying: "Zor zor se bolke logon ko scheme-ay bata de (reveal the scheme to everyone by shouting)."
Watch the scene here:
Let it not be thought that Akshay Kumar dismissed all the questions in the "Blame Game" as false – the first and the last were true, he admitted. A famously early riser, Akshay said it's "bilkul sahi" that he wakes at the crack of dawn to avoid heavy traffic. Also, he's afraid of wife Twinkle Khanna, right? "Absolutely right," he said.
Akshay Kumar's new film Raksha Bandhan released yesterday. He's currently filming Ram Setu.