'You can have glycerin and cry' : Akshay Kumar explains why comedy deserves more respect; credits Priyadarshan for his career

Akshay Kumar is all set for the release of his next film, 'Bhooth Bangla', a horror-comedy directed by Priyadarshan, in April this year. Recently, the actor shared that the comedy genre has never gotten its due in the industry. He also mentioned the names of filmmakers without whom he wouldn't have learned "even the 'C' of comedy."

Akshay Kumar reveals who taught him comedy

Akshay Kumar recently attended the India Today conclave, where he opened up about working with filmmakers on comedy movies. He stated that he has worked in around 150 movies and collaborated with over 70 filmmakers. The actor added, "But there is a tuning with Priyadarshan; it’s fun to work with him. I have learned a lot of comedy from him. Rajkumar Santoshi is also one of the directors from whom I have learned a lot. There was another late director and writer, Neeraj Vora."





Akshay Kumar expressed that these are the directors from whom he learned about comedy. He said, "These are the three people; if I got to know even the ‘C’ of comedy, it’s because of them."

Akshay Kumar calls comedy the toughest

During the same interaction, Akshay Kumar said that comedy "can't" be taught to anyone and "it comes from inside." He said, "If I talk about the film industry, if there is any actor who does comedy, you will never have them getting the Best Actor award."

He said that the award functions don't consider comedy actors in the Best Actor category. He said, "Whereas, if you ask the biggest actors, comedy is the toughest to do."

'Khiladi' Kumar went on to say that while a situation can make someone cry, making a person laugh is tough. He said, "You can have glycerin and cry, but comedy is the toughest, and unfortunately, it never got its due. Never."

Akshay stated that he has never come across an award event where the actor who did comedy in the entire film won the Best Actor award.

More about Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar is set to feature in 'Bhooth Bangla', directed by Priyadarshan. The duo is collaborating after over 15 years. Their last film together was 'Khatta Meetha', which was released in 2010.

Apart from Akshay, 'Bhooth Bangla' features Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Mithila Palkar, Wamiqa Gabbi, Rajpal Yadav, Jisshu Sengupta, and Asrani. The film will be out in cinemas on April 10, 2026.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”