New Delhi: ‘Fighter’ actor Akshay Oberoi will be seen in an important role in Shashank Khaitan’s film ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumar’ along with Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor. “I’m very excited. Dharam is on everyone’s wish list. Shashank Khaitan is a great director. These are films that everyone enjoys. I have been hungry to be seen and involved in commercial cinema. An artiste As you want everyone to see your work and the only way you realize that maybe you are getting better is when based on merit, not privilege or influence, you are cast in films like this. It feels amazing, merit-based casting is the biggest recognition.”

The actor, who has around 40 film and drama credits to his name, revealed that the biggest revelation for him during his period of struggle was that he had tremendous patience. “I love acting so much, so I have to take a lot of beatings and rejections every day. I have controlled myself and entered the battlefield with full enthusiasm and that is how I have survived. If my first film had released and I had tasted it immediately, I would have been a different person, my priorities would have also been different. I would have wanted more money, gotten journalists to write about me, and invested in a bigger fan base. But, no, I think today I have made my place and I am proud of it.

However, Akshay Oberoi admits that his Fighter co-star Hrithik Roshan left a deep impact on him. “Hrithik has inspired me. I grew up in New Jersey and was a teenager when I watched Kaho Na Pyaar Hai. This was the day when I resolved to become an actor. I felt represented by them and found a connection. The universe manifested its will and my big mainstream film ended with him. Hardly anyone can match his ideals, and here I am.”

He says the next thing on his wish list is to make another blockbuster like Fighter.

Akshay will next be seen in the series Illegal 3. So what is that thing in Bollywood that should be made illegal? “Airport looks, they should be banned. “I don’t understand that game at all,” he says, laughing.

Akshay, who has also played good guys and bad guys in shows like The Broken News, is candid when he admits that like any human being, he too has insecurities and jealousies. “I don’t have any such negative thoughts in my mind because I am very conscious about what I think. But, yes, there are moments when I see an actor being praised and celebrated or an actress who is suddenly blown away and I feel jealous. Although I tell myself that it has nothing to do with me, everyone is a competitor and it is a responsibility for me to perform better.