Remember the hit song Hum Hain Seedhe Sadhe Akshay...from the film KHILADIYON KA KHILADI in which Akshay Kumar sung this song on screen. It suited his image because frankly speaking Akshay Kumar is truly seedha sada i.e. simple and down to earth personality.

Amazing despite Akshay Kumar's humble and gentle personality brilliant filmmaker Shanker has cast him as the main villain opposite the mighty Rajinikanth in his upcoming sequel ENTHIRAN 2 leaving behind better options like Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger or the Bollywood Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan or Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan!

Though Akshay Kumar has played villain roles in many films in the past like KHILADI 420, ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA! Or SPECIAL 26 etc but most of the time he has been a failure except in Abbas Mastan's hit film AJNABEE (2001). In this film he played an astute killer and took the viewers by surprise. The movie also fetched him many awards as Best Villain including the prestigious Filmfare.

However in the past over one decade Akshay Kumar's image has undergone a drastic transformation. Today more than his action image Akshay is more famous for his comedy roles. His hits films HERA PHERI, HEYY BABYY, HOUSEFULL, WELCOME etc. just prove that that it is comedy that saved Akshay's career from drowning or else he would have been passé. Thus if the audience recognizes Akshay for his comedy than will they accept him as a ruthless villain and that too opposite the dynamic actor Rajinikanth?

Further it must be recalled that filmmaker Shanker had earlier categorically informed that the villain's character in ENTHIRAN 2 is equally powerful as that of Rajinikanth. Hence Shanker was ambitious to rope in a talented actor at par with Rajinikanth but alas despite approaching Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and even Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger none could materialize.

But that doesn't mean Shanker should have settled for anything less. If top stars were not available he must have launched an all India Talent Hunt and discovered a sensation newcomer just as Ramesh Sippy did and discovered Amjad Khan for SHOLAY, who proved so powerful that he overpowered all the top stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Jaya Bhadhuri in the film.

Similarly remember legendary filmmaker director K Balachander had discovered Rajinikanth in his film APOORVA RAAGANGAL (1975) in the negative role of an abusive husband opposite Srividya. If had settled for an ordinary villain and not discovered Rajinikanth than the world would have never witnessed an iconic actor like him.

What say readers should Shanker replace Akshay Kumar with a better option? Give your opinion may be he might change his decision!!!

This article is from Raaga's music blog. Read more at http://blog.raaga.com