Akshay Kumar clears air on why he first refused Special 26

While the stories have already been floating around how the filmmaker had pitched the film to Akshay Kumar long ago and an apparent 'miscommunication' with the superstar's office had resulted in the script not really finding a second helping (until Pandey tried his luck again), one hasn't really heard about the real reason from the man at the hot seat.

Well, this is what Akshay has to say.

"There is a huge difference when someone hands me a script and says 'Read it, let me know what do you think?', to coming back to me after a polite refusal a few years later with the narrators of the screenplay, and having it read to me with the passion of Robin Hood & the Prince of Thieves", smiles Akshay.

"See, I am not a reader. I am not blessed with the skills of making something sound interesting. In my head I read a story like 'Once upon a time there was a bad man'. But then in the head of the scriptwriter, it sounds like 'Once upon a time there was a convict King who had 26 conniving con-men who would bring me riches that would blow the mind of the Queen of England herself!", he adds in an animated tone.

This is exactly what happened when Pandey and his team approached Akshay again and the reading sessions that followed brought home an altogether different perspective for all involved, hence resulting in the actor consenting to do the film.

"So now you do understand why I enjoy script readings; they change my perception of a film", he says, "That is exactly what changed my mind with Special 26 the second time round. Instead of giving me something to put in my back pocket and read later, Neeraj Sir gave me something to remember for a long time - 'A True Story' which I truly cherish!"

Well Akshay, given the kind of feedback that has been pouring in, one can well imagine you and Neeraj share a hearty laugh over turning out to be second time lucky!

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