MUMBAI: Actor Akshay Kumar is a martial arts expert and believes that sports is beyond money for him.
Present at the Golf Premier League press meet on Friday, he said: “I am a sportsman first and then an actor. Everyone owns one team (in a sport), but I want to own all the sports. My father was a wrestler, not everyone knows that. For me sports is not a place where you make money.”
“I am here because the Pearls Group is going to enter many sports like kabaddi, cricket or hockey and wrestling. Don’t put that tag on me that I am here for money,” said the 44-year-old, who organises a karate championship annually.
Akshay further stated that it was his skill in martial arts that helped him get a break in films.
“I have been into sports since my childhood. My identity is because of that. I came to films because of martial arts. If someone gave my first film, it was not because of my acting talent, it was because my kick was good,” Akshay said.
“You won’t believe when I first came here (to Mumbai), I had not seen a camera. I kept on bringing up sports again and again. Now I want to promote parkour (a training discipline that developed out of military obstacle course) and I do it in my ads,” he added.
Akshay’s initial films Mr. Bond, Khiladi , Deedar, Waqt Hamara Hai and many more were action flicks.
He turned towards comedy with Hera Pheri and made a comeback to action with Rowdy Rathore in 2012.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2013.
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