His latest release, Kambakkht Ishq, has taken a super start atu00a0 ticket counters and Akshay Kumar is smiling again. The pressure's finally off him, especially as his last two films (Chandni Chowk To China and 8x10) put a dent in his long-standing hit record.

You've got to give it to the actor on an average, he has three-four releases in a year; his films rely mostly on mass appeal and the battering by critics doesn't affect the outcome of his films. I caught up with Akshay just before he left for London for the shooting of Sajid Khan's Housefull. He was in the right mood, right after the celebrations for his latest release. Here are excerpts from our conversation...

Dil dhundta hai fursat ke raat-din: Akshay Kumar. pics/ shadab khan

The impressive opening of Kambakkht Ishq and its collections at the box-office must have pleased you.u00a0
I am very happy with the results. Nowadays, if the beginning is good, everything is good. And we've come with 2030 screenings, which is huge. Someone was just telling me that it has beaten all records in Pakistan and it has already made over Rs 50 lakhs there. Until now, the biggest hit across the border was Veer Zara but Kambhakkt Ishq has already surpassed that. The film's success reassured our faith in it.

The critics trashed KI.
Yes, the critics panned it. Sometimes I understand it.
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Were you expecting it?
Yes, I was. Because it is not a critic-friendly film. Like critics all over the world gave The Transporter a one-star rating but they made 350 million dollars in the first week. Some films are critic-proof. They do good business despite what the reviews say. That's because such films always have an audience. Whether it is good or bad, it's the kind of film people want to go and watch.u00a0
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The Transporter is an action film your forte. Why aren't you doing those kind of films?
I am not moving away from action. I did it in Chandi Chowk To China. I did kung-fu and everything that was needed.u00a0
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No, I mean a Transporter-meets-Bond kind of cool action.
The problem with doing that is today, all English films release here at the same time as they do abroad, so the Indian audiences are already exposed to that. So there's no point attempting a film like that here. It's not like old times when very few English films released here. Now there are simultaneous worldwide releases. And I have just finished a good action film called Blue. It's a different space that we've gone to. It's a different genre. There are rare underwater scenes with sharks.
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You had a near-death experience while swimming with sharks, didn't you?
Yes, we were shooting in the deep sea and feeding sharks, when I hit my head on something and started bleeding. I've heard that sharks can smell a drop of blood from a mile, and they zoom in for the kill. But before I could even react, one of the guys just threw all the bait in the opposite direction, so the sharks would charge there, while the second diver put his hand on my wound and we rose to the surface in 20 seconds. I am fortunate to be alive after that incident. My wife Tina was on the ship above and was watching the scene on the monitor.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
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Weren't you scared of going back into the water the next day?
No, I possibly didn't realise the seriousness of it.u00a0
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Admit it, you love taking risks.
Yes, to an extent. You know, there are some people who like to sit on all the rides in an amusement park, no matter how scary because it is fun. I am like that. I enjoy it. Also, in the park, you have to pay to get that kind of a thrill, but in films, they pay me to do experience those kinds of thrills. Whether it is underwater scenes or leaping from planes or buildings...
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Coming back to Blue, is it true that Sanjay Dutt feels sidelined in the film?
This Sanjay Dutt thing has been going on and on and on. Have you heard me ever talk about it? I don't have any problems with anyone. We have finished the whole film. It's over and done with.
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Do you think other actors in Blue felt threatened as they know you will do better action?
Maybe... There may be points like that. But I finish about 4-5 films a year. I don't have the time to get into all this.u00a0
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You were the first guy to leap from high-rises and planes but now everyone is doing it. Shouldn't you now be raising the bar?
Now, everyone is doing stunt scenes because cable work has come in. I used to jump without cables. Safety has just come in five years ago. I've jumped on cardboard boxes; then came airbags, and finally cables. Even now, cables are done manually; very few people use the winch machine. I was telling Mr (Sylvester) Stallone about how back home, we've jumped from ten-floor buildings without cables and he said, "You are crazy people over there." And I said, "Yes, we are."u00a0
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Jumping with cables sounds pretty easy.
No, it's not easy. Once you are standing on the edge of the building, it's quite difficult to jump even when you know you are being held by cables. Also, you know that your life is in the hands of five people who are holding the cables.u00a0
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Your wife doesn't stop you from going ahead with this madness?
Earlier, she used to tell meu2026 but now she's okay. I don't know if she's putting on a brave front for me or if she really believes it but she says, "I know nothing will happen to you." Maybe it's because I have done two-three films with her and she has seen me do that kind of action and has faith that I can do it.u00a0
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You've never been affected by what people say about you. But of late, you've started saying things like "Let sleeping dogs lie and some day I will talk against people who are my enemies" and more.
Still, I won't take names. I am a human being and there's a limit to my patience. One day, I will react. I am not reacting yet. I can take names and point fingers at people but you are right, that is not me. I want to go back to the kind of person I was. And ignore stuff.u00a0u00a0
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Also, if you take names, it's going to get uglier...
It's not going to get ugly or anything. No one can do anything to me. But like I said before, I am a human being and I can ignore some things some of the times; not all things all the time. It's come to a point where it has started bothering me. But I have still controlled myself. I don't want to lose control. And I am glad that I have kept my anger in check.u00a0
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Why do you feel persecuted?
You know, Lata Mangeshkar said somewhere, "The more fruits a tree bears the more people throw stones at it." But if I am being constantly provoked, I have to react because I'm not a tree. And I did react a little bit, but to tell you the truth, I somewhere also regret it.u00a0 I just do my work. I don't get involved in any politics or games. I have achieved whatever I have, due to my own hard work and no one can take that away from me. I have done 120 films and out of that, about 80-85 films were hits; the rest were average or flops or whatever. And in all those years, I have never said anything wrong about anyone. I've not wronged anyone. I feel very fortunate and proud that I have not rubbed anyone the wrong way in all my years here.