Akshaye Khanna Reacts To ‘Ikka’ And ‘Dhurandhar’ Comparisons, Reveals Director Siddharth P. Malhotra

If you’ve been following the fever-pitch internet chatter about the courtroom drama Ikka, you’d know that fans have been obsessively drawing parallels between Akshaye Khanna’s dark role here and his monstrous, menacing performance in Dhurandhar.  

Director Siddharth P. Malhotra is now opening up on how the team and Akshaye himself handled the constant comparisons. Turns out the overlap wasn't a mistake; the two films were practically bumping into each other behind the scenes.  

“We were prepping Ikka while Dhurandhar was shooting,” Malhotra said. “It was about to be released when our cameras started rolling, and it actually opened in the theatres while we were actively filming. So we had both of those intense phases happen totally side-by-side."  

Akshaye Khanna’s Reaction

With the explosion of fandom around his Dhurandhar work, you’d think the Ikka set would feel a bit of pressure. But Akshaye, according to Malhotra, was totally, unapologetically unaffected.  

In fact, the notoriously reclusive star gave his director the ultimate reality check with a few incredibly down-to-earth pieces of advice:

Don’t Take The Pressure: Akshaye told Malhotra bluntly not to get bogged down by outside expectations or box office hype. His advice was simple: tune out the noise, focus on your script and just make sure you’re delivering a good film.  

“This Too Shall Pass”: Not one to play industry games, Akshaye took the sudden wave of intense stardom in his stride. “I have done my job as an actor," said he to the director. This fandom has been through some things, and this too shall pass."  

You Can't Change My Face Akshaye pointed out rather realistically that comparing the two projects is ultimately a bit silly. Malhotra was told by him, "This is just my face, and this is the way I walk. I mean, I can’t change my basic features and start growling in a different way magically to force a contrast.”

Why the Team Doesn’t Care

Malhotra adds that there is no toxic rivalry behind the scenes at all, other than Akshaye’s calming presence. The director shared that Dhurandhar director Aditya Dhar is a very close personal friend from the days when they were writing together. It was that bond that made Malhotra want Dhurandhar to win more genuinely than see it as a threat.  

The crew behind Ikka are confident in their own legal mystery, now that it's headed to audiences. The team is perfectly okay with letting the storytelling do the talking, though the internet will continue to dissect every frame for similarities.