Suneel Darshan and Akshay Kumar collaborated on seven films, including Jaanwar, Ek Rishtaa, Andaaz, Talaash, and Dosti: Friends Forever. While they delivered multiple hits together, their last project was in 2005, after which the actor-filmmaker duo never worked together again. Now, as Darshan promotes his upcoming film Andaaz 2, he got candid about the “vulnerable” Akshay he first cast, and the humiliations the actor endured after a string of flops.Darshan remembered the time he signed Akshay for Jaanwar, saying the actor was at his lowest, coming off 13–14 back-to-back flops. “He had stopped getting movies. Even the good ones weren’t coming to him, and the bad ones were drying up too,” the director recalled in an interview with Bollywood Bubble. “People tend to push you down even harder when you’re already failing.”Interestingly, Jaanwar was originally written for Sunny Deol, who dropped out. Darshan then considered Ajay Devgn, but when Akshay reached out, destiny took over. “He was this gorgeous, humble Punjabi boy. He had the discipline, the looks, but one big problem—he was not saleable,” Darshan admitted. “Making a big-budget film with someone the trade didn’t trust was a huge risk.”The risk, however, paid off. Jaanwar became a turning point in Akshay’s career.
But before that success came what the director calls an “ugly phase” in the industry. “There were times when people would misbehave—even on the streets. When actors fall, it can be traumatic. People who once praised you start laughing at you,” Darshan said. “Not saying Akshay had his nose in the air, but fame does that to many.”Darshan also opened up about Akshay’s difficult equation with the industry during those years. “He told me once, ‘I won’t name them, but some of the biggest filmmakers used to ridicule me. They’d call me kachra behind my back,’” Darshan revealed, adding that Akshay didn’t want to take names out of concern for the director’s future.The filmmaker says he stood by Akshay when most others didn’t—and eventually watched him rise again. “It gave me a lot of joy when Akshay went on to work with all those same people… but on his terms. That felt like my victory too.”On a more emotional note, Darshan recalled the bond they shared. “For seven years, this was his second home. He operated from my office when he wasn’t shooting. That kind of connection doesn’t happen often,” he said. “Dosti, our last film together, reflected that very bond.”