Ek Villain Returns stars John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor REACT to Akshay Kumar's claims about two-hero films being challenging

The third episode of Koffee with Karan season 7 has been making headlines for many reasons but particularly because of Akshay Kumar’s statement about two heroes not wanting to work together in a Bollywood film. This statement comes as a surprise, since John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor are working together in their upcoming movie, Ek Villain Returns. The actors have now responded to Akshay’s claims while they were promoting their film.

John, according to News18, stated, “I have loved my association with Arjun, with Varun (Dhawan, in Dishoom), with Abhishek (Bachchan, in Dhoom). With Akshay I have done 3 films, I love him to death. And I think he’s probably right to an extent. But I think there are places where you can work with two, three actors. Maybe you can’t make an Oceans 11, you can make an Oceans 3 or Oceans 4. You know what I’m saying?”

He went on to explain that he believes this younger generation can make things happen and that he sees no problem with it.

Arjun, on the other hand, expressed his thoughts on the subject. “In all fairness, I’ve done, Gunday, Bhoot Police. I’ve always believed in ensemble casts. I think they are great fun because I’ve grown up watching Subhash Ghai’s cinema. I’ve seen Anil chachu (Kapoor) do two-hero films, John is talking about the ones he has done. Perhaps Akshay sir’s point is that it has become tougher to convince people about the value that they bring and what they’re getting on screen because there’s a lot of trust involved. More than insecurity, you also need to trust the people you’re working with.”

Arjun further said that the Bollywood industry needs more than two heroine or two hero films, but also one film with multiple stars. He went on to name a couple of his films, such as 2 States (with Alia Bhatt in the lead role), Mubarakan (with Anil Kapoor) and Finding Fanny (with Deepika Padukone, Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah). Arjun also noted how performers like being on set to make a larger and better picture, which protects a producer's interests and assists the director in making the film the way it is intended to be done.

He went on to clarify that while he respects Akshay's perspective to a certain extent, however he still believes that the industry has changed for the better. The actor feels that transformation will be able to truly provide those figures and levels for the business.

Koffee With Karan’s third episode saw Akshay grace Karan Johar’s talk show with debutante Samantha Ruth Prabhu. It was then that he and Karan discussed how tough it has been to get two actors to work together in the industry. They believed that there is a certain level of insecurity in actors which stops them from working in two-hero films.

Ek Villain Returns, starring John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria, will be released in theatres on July 29. Helmed by Mohit Suri, there is no official update on when or where the movie would release on OTT.