AKSHAY Kumar says his main inspiration to do Gabbar is Back was to highlight the corruption and crime rates in his country.

Kumar returns to screens in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gabbar Is Back on May 1 and it was a storyline he was more than willing to get his teeth into.

“I did Gabbar is Back because of corruption.

“I am alarmed by the crime rates in India and even calculated the amount of money gathered due to scams, to add up to 12 trillion dollars.

“I compared the crime rates between India and other countries and the numbers in India are astonishing.

“Crime rates are low in countries such as the UAE due to strict law enforcement which isn’t the case in India. So you need a name like Gabbar, who may behave like a villain but his actions are of a hero.”

The film is a Hindi remake of Tamil film Ramana and sees Kumar take on the role of ACP Gabbar, leader of a vigilante group.

Working with Kareena Kapoor, (who is nicknamed Bebo) was something he was all too familiar with. “Bebo has been an integral part of my career. We’ve done many movies together and one can only hope we have many more to come. She is everything one could ever ask in a Bollywood actress.

“She will always know how deeply I appreciate her effort and expertise. I’m sure viewers are going to love her in this song. She has brought a kindness to our film like no other.

“We love working with each other. We had a great time shooting for the song.”

He did clear up the film had nothing to do with famous Gabbar from the classic, Sholay, “Gabbar is the hero in the film and a vigilante, who takes it in his own hands to put an end to crime and injustice. Both the characters are very different.”

Gabbar is Back is out today at cinemas.