EXCLUSIVE: Sky Force co-director Abhishek Anil Kapur reveals that Akshay Kumar smoked herbal cigarettes: “Akshay sir ko hum asli mein kyun smoke karayenge? Neither do I smoke nor does he”

Abhishek Anil Kapur, the co-director of Sky Force, got a chance to direct a star like Akshay Kumar in his debut venture. Interestingly, it was not the first time he had worked with him. Abhishek had assisted in Sarfira (2024), which also starred Akshay. In an exclusive interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Abhishek Anil Kapur spoke about his bond with Akshay Kumar and also the other male lead of the film, Veer Pahariya.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Sky Force co-director Abhishek Anil Kapur reveals that Akshay Kumar smoked herbal cigarettes: “Akshay sir ko hum asli mein kyun smoke karayenge? Neither do I smoke nor does he”

 

Abhishek Anil Kapur began by saying, “I was very fortunate to work with Sudha Kongara ma’am in Sarfira. She’s a brilliant director. Akshay, meanwhile, is one of the most versatile actors we have today. He can do diverse films, from Sky Force to Airlift to Hera Pheri. Generally, a director likes to have a rapport with the actor exclusively. But on Sarfira sets, she let me have that equation with Akshay sir. At times, I used to explain the scene to him or rehearse with him. This helped me form a bond with him. We started discussing the creative parts of filmmaking on the sets of Sarfira. Hence, Sky Force happened in a way thanks to the secure approach of Sudha ma’am.”

 

Akshay Kumar, who has been seen in anti-smoking ads for years, can be seen smoking excessively in Sky Force. On this, Abhishek Anil Kapur revealed, “Even though we have changed names to avoid sentiments, we still wanted our film to be as authentic as possible. Back in 1965, smoking was very common among Air Force officials as it was not as taboo, as it is now. We explained to him this aspect. He asked, ‘What do you think? Should I smoke?’. I replied, ‘If you smoke, it’ll help us because, in several scenes, you are in your zone and lost in thoughts. In such shots, it’s always good to show the character indulging in some activity’. His answer was, ‘If you feel I should do it, then I will’.”

 

 

He also said, “At the same time, we all know that Akshay Kumar is the biggest health-conscious person ever. Hence, he didn’t smoke tobacco cigarettes. Instead, he smoked herbal cigarettes which have zero nicotine. Akshay sir ko hum asli mein kyun smoke karayenge? Neither do I smoke nor does he. And when we have a way out in the form of herbal cigarettes, then why would I make my actor suffer? We just had to make the herbal cigarette look like it’s from 1965.”

 

Abhishek Anil Kapur spoke highly of Veer Pahariya, “I met Veer first during Bhediya (2022). He had met Dinoo sir (producer Dinesh Vijan) and expressed his desire to act. Dinoo sir wanted to make sure that he was passionate enough about acting and filmmaking. Hence, he worked as my intern on Bhediya sets, directed by Amar Kaushik sir. We made Veer do every possible job under the sun and he was more than happy with the whole process, including the one behind the camera. It gave us an assurance that this guy was not here for the fame but because he was passionate.”

 

He continued, “While casting for Sky Force, we were extremely sure that we needed a debutant for the character Tabby. We were not okay with having an actor with baggage as we wanted the audience to worship Tabby. For that, an actor with a clean slate was required. So, today, when I go out to cinemas, people don’t call him Veer. They call him Tabby (smiles). This wouldn’t have been possible with an established actor.”

 

Abhishek Anil Kapur signed off by stating, “We auditioned Veer multiple times. We even trained him at an air base in Pune. Once he was back, we did another round of tests with him in the presence of a pilot. The whole process took 6 months and only then we were convinced that we could take him on board.”

 

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Abhishek Anil Kapur BREAKS silence on Fighter – Sky Force comparisons: “Leads of both films are Air Force pilots. That doesn’t mean the films are the same. Aap Dabangg aur Singham ko toh compare nahin karte ho na?”

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