Akshay Kumar cites Dhurandhar to explain Bollywood's changing trends

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar highlighted the evolving trends in Indian cinema, noting the renewed popularity of high-energy action films like Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar. He emphasised how audience preferences cycle through genres.

Actor Akshay Kumar spoke about the changing trends in Bollywood while referencing the success of Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar. Speaking to senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai at the India Today Conclave Delhi 2026 during a session titled The Khiladi: Method Behind the Hit Machine, Akshay said audience tastes in cinema keep evolving every few years.

Using Dhurandhar as an example, the actor noted how audiences have once again embraced large-scale action films.

“Take Dhurandhar, for example. It’s a full-fledged action film. The whole film is about action and bloodshed. People have loved it, they have lapped it up and really enjoyed it. And then there’s a hero like Ranveer Singh, who performs intense action scenes, a very chest-thumping, high-energy kind of action. He carries the image of a complete ‘angry young man', he said.

Akshay pointed out that this style of cinema had briefly taken a backseat a few years ago, when socially driven films were finding greater traction with audiences. “But this had stopped in between. I’m talking about around five or six years ago. At that time, I did social films - films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Pad Man - and those worked very well. Social films were doing well back then.”

According to the actor, Bollywood operates in cycles where genres come in and out of favour depending on audience mood.

“See the film industry is like a circle; it keeps on changing after every two years, three years. Everything changes. The concept, our audience, they keep on changing what they want. Aaj Indian kha liya, kal Chinese kha li, parso Italian kha liya. Everything changes after every two years.”