At the age of 24, Gaurav Manwane bagged the role of a lifetime. His dream of working with his ‘childhood hero’ Akshay Kumar came through whenKhel Khel Mein was offered to him in 2023. What followed next was Destiny’s great screenplay.
Gaurav Manwane on working with Akshay Kumar
Sharing his experience of working with Akshay Kumar and the star-studded cast of Khel Khel Mein, Gaurav told Zoom exclusively, “Landing this role feels like a dream come true for me. It’s my first film. Saying yes to Khel Khel Mein was one of the easiest decisions. By denying it, I couldn’t have thrown away the character. I feel grateful for this opportunity. It was magical working with my childhood hero.”
Recalling the evening when Akshay Kumar hosted the entire cast and crew of Khel Khel Mein for dinner, Gaurav gushed, “Akshay sir invited me for dinner. It was something for me because we were shooting and the next day, there was a turnaround. Akshay sir came and said ‘Tonight you guys have to come to my place. Please coordinate with the director’. I was dancing and nervous at the same time because I couldn’t process the joy. Since so many good things were happening at once, I was still pinching myself. I got dressed up and went to meet Akshay Kumar. I was hanging out with a superstar.”
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Gaurav Manwane reacts to Khel Khel Mein box office performance
Gaurav played the role of Vaani Kapoor’s on-screen sister’s to-be husband Varun in Khel Khel Mein. He had a pivotal part to play. The film directed by Mudassar Azis released along with Stree 2 and Vedaa on August 15. Despite the buzz and decent reviews, Khel Khel Mein underperformed at the box office.
Reacting to Khel Khel Mein’s box office performance, Gaurav said, “There were three films releasing together. I feel all of them did well in their own areas. Stree is a franchise and people were waiting for it. For some, Stree 2 was a priority considering what the prequel did. Though, people loved our film too. We got our share of appreciation even if it was delayed. I am pretty new to this box office thing, so wouldn’t comment on that because I don’t know much about it. Box office numbers matter a lot but craft is important too. When people like something and even if it’s not commercially successful, it should be fine.
Khel Khel Mein also starred Taapsee Pannu, Fardeen Khan, Ammy Virk, Vaani Kapoor, Aditya Seal and Pragya Jaiswal.