PremiumAkhil Akkineni on Agent: Actors need to go the extra mile to draw audiences to theatres in the OTT era
The 29-year-old star opens up on his spy thriller Agent and why the Surender Reddy-directorial will offer a unique experience for action junkies
Last Updated: 07.03 PM, Apr 22, 2023
Akhil Akkineni, who awaits the release of the most expensive film of his career, Agent, is cautiously optimistic about the film. He isn’t nervous about shouldering the burden of recovering a huge sum at the box office and says it was necessary for the script to be made on a huge scale. “I didn’t force the producer to do it (laughs). The film demanded something out of the box from me, including the characterisation, body language and the look,” he shares.
While he’s clarified on several occasions that Sakshi Vaidya may have limited screen time in the film, Akhil is confident of the impact her role will have on the audiences. “Surender Reddy said I needed to push myself harder and not be overawed by her,” the Most Eligible Bachelor star says. The actor enjoys the action genre a great deal and was inching to do a larger-than-life film.
Surender Reddy offered him Agent during the making of Most Eligible Bachelor and he was naturally thrilled. He knew they’d be working on an action drama but wasn’t aware that it was a spy thriller. “Agent will be a new experience for audiences whose story spans countries. While spy films are not alien to Telugu viewers, Agent will still be a one-of-a-kind experience for viewers,” he assures.
Promising a wild ride for action junkies, Akhil reveals he’s also nicknamed Agent Wild in the film. “It’s hard to understand him, he’s a messy youngster with hardly any qualities you’d expect from a real-life spy. He’s a funny guy himself and there was no need for a comedian in Agent. He finds space for humour even during intense action sequences and chases,” Akhil states.
The 29-year-old believes Mammootty’s character will be an asset and says the huge canvas was necessary for his image and fan-following. “There’s a strong basis behind him choosing me for a mission. Beyond Malayalam, he only agrees to a film when it’s a good script. I was very conscious of his presence on sets. However, it’s unlikely that he’ll promote Agent after his mother’s death.”
He mentions that his primary motive is to offer something new to Telugu audience every time he appears on the screen and isn’t keen on picking something safe/conventional. Akhil says it’s necessary for actors to go that extra mile for every film to draw audiences to theatres in the OTT era.
The Hello actor took over 10 months for his physical transformation in Agent. “Surender Reddy wanted a look that’ll make audiences forget my previous appearances. I behave like a monkey in the film and for someone shy like me, it was quite a task. Being energetic in every scene was difficult and I was in self-doubt many times in the caravan. However, they were necessary to make Agent special.”
Despite being a star son, Akhil is pragmatic to not depend on his family legacy for every film. “It’s important for me to carve my niche though I still pay heed to advice from my dad. He has decades of experience here but I don’t pressurise him to help with my decisions. I’m waiting to work with him on an action film, it’ll be a dream and I want the script to be a blast.” He’ll commence work on his next project this June.