Mumbai: He is being described as the actor who’s giving Shah Rukh Khan sleepless nights. He is that rare breed of actors who can uplift even average films and turn them into Box Office gold. No wonder they're saying that he's charging the kind of money that would make your eyes pop. So is he the new number one?

Let's find out from Akshay Kumar himself.

Rajeev Masand: Akshay welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us.

Akshay Kumar: Thank you very much.

Rajeev Masand: They are calling you the most powerful actor in Bollywood. What does power mean to you?

Akshay Kumar: First of all I don't understand the idea of calling me a powerful actor. And as you said that they think I can turn even an average film into a Box Office hit. I don't think so.

Rajeev Masand: You don't think films like Bhagam Bhaag, Bhool Bhulaiyya even Heyy Baby, which are really average films, benefitted from your presences and performance?

Akshay Kumar: I don't think it's my presence. I think it is because of the scripts. The most important thing in a film is its script. It should be a commercial script. Don't look for logic. For me what matters is whether my film will entertain my audience, are they going to be happy with it, etcetera. If a family goes to watch a film, they spend at least 1000 rupees on tickets. So the film has to be entertaining. I am not going to cater to you Rajeev. I know you don't like my films but I am going to cater to people who are going to watch. Tell me honestly, if you were not a journalist you would not watching films in theatres. You would just be buying DVDs.

Rajeev Masand: Perhaps a lot of these films I would be watching.

Akshay Kumar: Exactly.

Rajeev Masand: Where Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan do perhaps one or two films a year and deliver successes, you're able to do three and four, maybe more and make Box Office hits out of these films so therefore the pressure I am guessing is a lot more on you.

Akshay Kumar: I believe I can work like that. I don’t have any kinds of problem getting up in the morning. Everybody has their own ways. I enjoy working. I have been doing it since last 18 years. I have finished 110 films by now. Films have become my passion. Earlier when I started my career I used to do it for money now I do it only for passion.

Rajeev Masand: Now because the pressure on you is so great tell me how do you choose your films. Do you choose them from the heart or do you choose the films you know will do well at the Box Office?

Akshay Kumar: I see the kind of films that I want to do. Like I have done a lot of comedy and then I would go for negative roles. Now I am starting action. For five years I did not touch action. So I want to keep on changing.

Rajeev Masand: Tell me what was the last film you saw that made you go I wish I was in this film?

Akshay Kumar: I saw Om Shanti Om and I really liked it. I thought I wish I was in this but I did a cameo also in that film so I am in it.

Rajeev Masand: Today the structure of the composition of an actor's fee has changed. You know there was a time when an actor charged a certain amount of money and that was what his salary was. Today it has become different. There is an upfront salary. There is a profit percentage off the backend and there is alsonegative rights. The kind of salary that they are talking about, as far as you are concerned, is really big numbers, 41 crore for example one has heard.

Akshay Kumar: See my salary is decided by media. They decide my salary. I don't decide it so I don't know. I can't anything much after that because I don't know where these figures come from.

Rajeev Masand: Are you smart enough about your business decisions. How do you know how much you're worth? How does an actor know he's worth?

Akshay Kumar: A very smart thing for an actor to do is, take a minimum amount and go for an IPR rate. You have to understand that if the business is good you get more money, if the business is bad then you stay there. That means it’s a safe film. A lot of people go for negative rights also with a 50 per cent, 33 per cent or some stake like that.

Rajeev Masand: Is this is the way of the future?

Akshay Kumar: It is going to happen because you can not predict what is going to be coming next. So if today I have to sign a film for 2009 I can not predict what my price is going to be. You have to wait and watch what is going to happen.

Rajeev Masand: You are doing Nagesh Kukunoor's new film Eight By Ten. Nagesh Kukunoor seems like an odd choice for Akshay Kumar. What really drew you towards doing a film with Nagesh Kukunoor?

Akshay Kumar: A lot of people say that you're doing an off-beat film. To me it is not an off-beat film. For me a film is either a good film or a bad film. I find it as a good script so I am doing it. I don't understand that off-beat thing at all. I was going to do Water with Deepa ji but unfortunately I could not do it.

Rajeev Masand: So that means you've really been looking for that interesting kind of script.

Akshay Kumar: No. I am looking for a good script. Whether it is Nagesh, David Dhawan, Deepa Mehta or anybody? I am just looking for a good script. When Nagesh told me about this script, the first thing thought was why is it called Eight By Ten. Then I realised that it all about a photograph and I found the concept very interesting. That's why I did it. I didn’t do it because I wanted to go for an off-beat film or because I wanted a national award. I find it very good and I have not touched a genre like this so I did it.

Rajeev Masand: Your films get sold the moment that they are announced even before they are shot.

Akshay Kumar: So is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Rajeev Masand: I would say it's a good thing. Isn't that a sign of power?

Akshay Kumar: I personally feel that people should wait and sell the film. Selling your film because your actor has given a few hits is a wrong thing. The most important thing for a producer to understand is that a film can be tagged as a hit only if it is sold at the right price and at the right time. Selling it before time, just because the film’s actor has delivered a few hits and distributors are falling on you to buy the film is a wrong concept. It's a misuse of an actor's power.

Rajeev Masand: And finally, they say that you are a bigger star than Shah Rukh Khan. How does it feel?

Akshay Kumar: I don't think like that. We both came from Delhi. We both don't have any film background and we have both wanted to make our lives here and we did and we’ve been lucky enough that audience like our films so there is no comparison.

Rajeev Masand: Well best of luck and thank you for talking to us. We are of course constantly going to be looking at you for exciting roles and exciting films.

Akshay Kumar: I hope so. I hope Rajeev you like my films.