Akshay Kumar addressed the criticism he gets for doing 4-5 films a year while speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2022 on Saturday.

Akshay Kumar had five releases in 2022, including four directly in theatres. When his films did not fare too well at the box office, many online criticised the actor for ‘working too much’. But Akshay is having none of it. At a recent interaction at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2022, he reacted to these critics and said he can’t understand why they have a problem with him working. Also read: Akshay Kumar to play Shivaji in Marathi debut

Akshay Kumar has received criticism for doing ‘too many’ films every year.(AFP)

Akshay was a part of a session at HTLS on cinema with fellow actor Ram Charan on Saturday. When asked why he works so much that he has 4-5 releases a year, Akshay responded, “Tell me, does anyone here ask their kids why they work so much? People ask ítni gambling kyun karta hai, itna peeta kyun hai (why do you gamble so much, why do you drink so much)’. But who questions someone for working a lot?”

The actor defended his decision to do four films a year and said he would continue to do so in future as well. “I do four films a year. Yes, I do it. I do ads, sure. I work, but I am not stealing from anyone. I don’t understand. Mediapersons ask me why do you get up early? But, morning is for waking up, right. They ask me why do you sleep so early. Arre bewakoof, raat ko sota hai aadmi (You fool, people sleep at night). I don’t understand what I am doing wrong. I will work, who won’t if they have a chance to do work. I will do four films. I will give 50 days if required and 90 days if needed.”

Akshay also clarified that his previous statement about ‘finishing a movie in 40 days’ has been misinterpreted. “I am talking about my shoot days, when I say 40 days and all. Otherwise, films take longer to make, some 80-90 days on an average,” he added.

Akshay had five releases this year–Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan, and Ram Setu all released in theatres, while Cuttputlli released on Disney+ Hotstar.