Priyadarshan fails to woo Akshay Kumar

From Hera Pheri to Khatta Meetha, actor Akshay Kumar and director Priyadarshan have given audience some of the best films to remember. However, for the last five years the director has been trying his best to rope in Akshay for another project, but to no avail.

Priyadarshan’s desperate attempts to sign Akshay for a project began with a film on AIDS, that he insisted could only be made with Akshay in the lead. This film never took off and Priyadarshan kept going to the khiladi with sundry offers only to return empty handed.

Now, the prolific director has announced his ambitious film, Makkar: The Lion of the Arabian Sea, based on the exploits of the 16th century naval explorer Kunjali Marakkar IV. While the title role in this Hindi-Malayalam-Telugu-Tamil film has gone to his old friend and collaborator Mohanlal, the director offered Akshay a role, which he once again declined.

A close friend of Akshay observes, “If you notice he likes to work with new directors these days. He gave up doing a bunch of films with the same director long ago. Whether it’s Priyadarshan or Suneel Darshan, Akshay is done with the comfort of the familiar.”