When Akshay Kumar turned emcee

The trailer launch of the anticipated film Mission Mangal started off with a bang, with Akshay Kumar deciding to play host. But his reason for doing so cracked everyone up.

If the joke evaded you, here’s a quick explainer. A little over a week ago, at a song launch of the film Judgementall Hai Kya, a row broke out between media persons and the host, as the latter kept interrupting their questions. And so Akshay, who believes that the media and celebrities share a mutually beneficial relationship (“Ours is like a husband-wife relationship. As much as we need you, you need us,” he said) declared, “I have turned MC (Master of Ceremonies) so that the media does not get offended.”

The actor, who leads a team of scientists in the film, went on to introduce the rest of the cast by holding out a placard that had the designations they hold in the film written on it. Akshay also revealed that he didn’t know much about the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), a subject the film explores and says that it was director Jagan Shakti who shed light on it. “Did you know that this Mangalyaan (MOM) was made within the budget of 400 crores? This intriguing story will make every individual feel proud about the Mission,” he said.

It’s common news now that Akshay’s Mission Mangal and John Abraham’s Batla House are set to clash on August 15. Does Akshay look at this as a threat? “In a year, more than 280 Hindi films release, plus, 30 to 40 Hollywood films. There’s a huge rush and producers may have to release four to five films on the same day. So there’s no reason to blame one another,” says the actor, before giving John’s answer to the same question (“Let the desi boyz enjoy”, he had said) a thumbs up.