Akshay Kumar (Hindi: अक्षय कुमार; born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia[1] on 9 September 1967[1]) is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series", which included Khiladi (1992), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), International Khiladi (1999), and Khiladi 420 (2000), as well as other action films such as Mohra (1994).[2]
He later gained more fame for his drama, romance and comedy roles.[3] He started becoming known for his performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi (1994) and Dhadkan (2000) as well as drama films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001). His comic performances in comedy films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), and Garam Masala (2005) met with acclaim. His success further rose in 2007, when he starred in four consecutive commercial hits. He has thus established himself as one of the leading actors in Hindi cinema.
Apart from acting, Kumar worked as a stunt actor; he often performed many dangerous stunts in his films,[4] which earned him a reputation as the "Indian Jackie Chan".[2] 2008 marked his television debut as the host of the show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. In 2009, Kumar founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company.[5] In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law on Kumar in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema. The following year he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.[3]Contents  [hide] 
1 Early life
2 Career 
2.1 1990s
2.2 2000s
3 Personal life
4 Awards and nominations
5 Filmography 
5.1 Actor
5.2 Television appearances
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
[edit]
Early life
Akshay Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab.[1] His father was an army officer. From a very young age, he was recognised as a performer, particularly as a dancer. Kumar was raised in Delhi's Chandni Chowk neighbourhood before moving to Mumbai.[6] In Mumbai, he lived in Koliwada, which was another Punjabi dominated area.[6] He studied at Don Bosco School and then Guru Nanak Khalsa College (King's Circle), where he participated in sports with Janpal Singh.[6]
After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India,[7] he studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand,[6] where he learned Muay Thai[7] and worked as a chef[6] and waiter.[7] He then came back to Mumbai, where he started teaching martial arts. One of his students happened to be a photographer and recommended him to do modelling. The student gave him a modelling assignment for a small company. For his two hours posing in front of the camera, Kumar got Rs. 5,000, compared to his previous monthly salary of Rs. 4,000. That was one of the main reasons why he chose to be a model. After a couple of months of modelling, Kumar was offered a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.[6]
[edit]
Career
[edit]
1990s
Kumar made his Bollywood acting debut with the 1991 film Saugandh, which was followed by the 1992 thriller film Khiladi. In 1994, his action films Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Mohra were among the highest grossing films of the year.[8] Later that year, Yash Chopra signed him for the romantic film Yeh Dillagi which was also a success.[8] He received appreciation for his performance in this film, where he played a romantic role which was different compared to his action roles. He would consequently receive his first nominations for Best Actor award at the Filmfare and Star Screen ceremonies. During the same year, Kumar also had success with films like Suhaag and the low budget action film Elaan. All these achievements, promoted Kumar as one of the most successful actors of the year.[9]
In 1995, along with his share of unsuccessful movies, he starred in the third film in his Khiladi series Sabse Bada Khiladi, which was a hit.[10] He proved to have success with the Khiladi series, as in the next year he starred in the fourth successful film with Khiladi in the title, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi opposite Rekha and Raveena Tandon. The film became one of the highest grossing films of the year.[11]
In 1997, Kumar was seen in a supporting role in Yash Chopra's hit film Dil To Pagal Hai, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award nomination. In the same year, he attempted a comedy role with the fifth film in the Khiladi series, Mr and Mrs Khiladi. Unlike his previous films with Khiladi in the title, the film failed commercially.[12] In the same way as this film, his next Khiladi releases in the following years went on to fail at the box office. In 1999, Kumar received critical acclaim for his roles in the films Sangharsh and Jaanwar. Whilst the former did not make a profit at the box office, the latter turned out to be a success.[13]
[edit]
2000s
 
Kumar on the sets of Heyy Babyy
In 2000, he starred in the comedy Hera Pheri (2000) which was a commercial success.[14] He also starred in the romantic film Dhadkan later that same year which performed moderately at the box office.[14] That same year, he performed some of his most dangerous stunts in Khiladi 420, where he climbed a running plane, stood on top of the plane flying a thousand feet in the air, and jumped from the plane onto a hot air balloon.[4] In a later scene, he is also seen being chased by a car, dodging bullets, jumping off buildings, and climbing walls.[15] In 2001, Kumar played a negative role in the film Ajnabee. The film won him much acclaim as well as his first Filmfare Award for Best Villain.[1] Kumar played a role as role as a blind man in Aankhen.
Following Hera Pheri, Kumar starred in a number of comedy films, including Awara Paagal Deewana (2002) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004).[16] and Garam Masala (2005). The films succeeded at the box office[17][18] and his performance in the latter earned him his second Filmfare Award, for Best Comedian.[1] Apart from his action, comedy and romantic roles, Kumar displayed a flair for dramatic roles in films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001), Aankhen (2002), Bewafaa (2005) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005).[1]n
In 2005,He starred in Rajkumar Santoshi's Khakee alongside Amitabh Bachchan,Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai.
In 2006 he starred in a sequel to Hera Pheri titled Phir Hera Pheri. As was the former, the sequel became a huge success at the box office.[19] Later that year he starred alongside Salman Khan in the romantic musical Jaan-E-Mann. The film was a well anticipated release, and despite receiving positive reviews from critics, did not do as well as expected at the box office.[19] Though the film under-performed, his role as a shy, lovable nerd was praised.[20] He ended the year with the comedy Bhagam Bhag, which was a success.[19] In that same year, he led the Heat 2006 world tour along with fellow stars Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.[21]
2007 proved to be Kumar's most successful year during his career in the industry, and as described by box office analysts, "probably the best ever recorded by an actor, with four outright hits and no flops."[22] His first release, Namastey London, was critically and commercially successful, and his performance earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Filmfare. Critic Taran Adarsh wrote of his performance in the film, "he's sure to win the hearts of millions of moviegoers with a terrific portrayal in this film."[23] His next two releases, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa, were box office successes as well.[24][25] Kumar's last release of the year, Welcome, did extremely well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster status and simultaneously becoming his fifth successive hit.[26] All of Kumar's films which released that year did well in the overseas market as well.[27]
Kumar's first film of 2008, Tashan, marked his comeback to the Yash Raj Films banner after 11 years. Although much anticipated by the public,[28] the film was a critical and commercial failure. His second film, Singh Is Kinng was a huge success at the box office and broke the first-week worldwide record of Om Shanti Om, the previous highest figure.[29] His next film was the animated film Jumbo. The year also saw Kumar making his small screen debut as the host of the successful show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. He later returned to host the show's second season in 2009.
In 2009, Kumar featured opposite Deepika Padukone in the Warner Bros.-Rohan Sippy production Chandni Chowk to China. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the film was a critical and commercial failure at the box office.[30] Kumar's next release was 8 x 10 Tasveer. Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, the film was a critical and commercial failure. His next release was Kambakkht Ishq. Kumar's film Blue was released on 16 October 2009. Blue collected about Rs. 42 crores at the box-office.[31] His release in 2009 was Priyadarshan's De Dana Dan.
He then appeared in the 2010 comedy, Housefull, directed by Sajid Khan which garnered the second-highest opening weekend collection of all time.[32] Kumar's next release was Khatta Meetha, directed by Priyadarshan which was an average grosser. He also appeared in Vipul Shah's Action Replayy, which was a box office failure.[33] His last film of 2010 was Tees Maar Khan. In 2011 he starred in Patiala House and Thank You.
He also co-produced a film with Russell Peters titled Breakaway (dubbed into Hindi as Speedy Singhs) which is reminiscent of his own Patiala House.[34] Breakaway has become the highest-grossing English movie in Canadian history.[35] Akshay Kumar, recently dubbed for the Hindi version of Hollywood, action blockbuster, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Akshay dubbed for the role of 'Optimus Prime', which is one of the key characters in the film. He took the dubbing role for his son, Aarav, and did so for free.[36]
His latest film is Rohit Dhawan's Desi Boyz (2011), which co-starred John Abraham, Chitrangada Singh and Deepika Padukone. Desi Boyz was a moderate success at the box office.
[edit]
Personal life
Kumar earlier dated several of his colleagues, such as Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon. After being engaged twice to actress Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of actors Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, he married her on 14 January 2001. Their son named Aarav was born in September 2002.[1] He stays in shape with a combination of kickboxing, basketball, swimming and other sports, as well as working out at the gym.[37]
[edit]
Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Akshay Kumar
[edit]
Filmography
[edit]
ActorYear	Film	Role	Notes
1991	Saugandh	Shiva	
1992	Dancer	Raja	
1992	Mr Bond	Mr. Bond	
1992	Khiladi	Raj Malhotra	
1992	Deedar	Anand Malhotra	
1993	Ashaant	Vijay	
1993	Dil Ki Baazi	Vijay	
1993	Kayda Kanoon	Daud	
1993	Waqt Hamara Hai	Vikas Sabkuchwala	
1993	Sainik	Suraj Dutt	
1994	Elaan	Vishal Chaudhry	
1994	Yeh Dillagi	Vijay Saigal	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
1994	Jai Kishen	Jai Verma / Kishen	
1994	Mohra	Amar Saxena	
1994	Main Khiladi Tu Anari	Karan Joglekar	
1994	Ikke Pe Ikka	Rajiv	
1994	Amaanat	Amar	
1994	Suhaag	Raj	
1994	Nazar Ke Samne	Jai Kumar	
1994	Zakhmi Dil	Jaidev Anand	
1994	Zaalim	Ravi	
1994	Hum Hain Bemisaal	Vijay Sinha	
1995	Paandav	Vijay	
1995	Maidan-E-Jung	Karan	
1995	Sabse Bada Khiladi	Vijay Kumar / Lallu	
1996	Tu Chor Main Sipahi	Amar Varma	
1996	Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi	Akshay Malhotra	
1996	Sapoot	Prem	
1997	Lahoo Ke Do Rang	Sikandar Davai	
1997	Insaaf: The Final Justice	Vikram	
1997	Daava	Arjun	
1997	Tarazu	Inspector Ram Yadav	
1997	Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi	Raja	
1997	Dil To Pagal Hai	Ajay	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1997	Aflatoon	Rocky / Raja	
1998	Keemat: They Are Back	Dev	
1998	Angaaray	Amar	
1998	Barood	Jai Sharma	
1999	Aarzoo	Vijay Khanna	
1999	International Khiladi	Rahul / "Devraj"	
1999	Zulmi	Raj	
1999	Sangharsh	Professor Aman Varma	
1999	Jaanwar	Badshah / Babu Lohaar	
2000	Hera Pheri	Raju	
2000	Dhadkan	Ram	
2000	Khiladi 420	Dev Kumar/Anand Kumar	
2001	Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love	Ajay Kapoor	
2001	Ajnabee	Vikram Bajaj	Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
2002	Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya	Raj Malhotra	
2002	Aankhen	Vishwas Prajapati	
2002	Awara Paagal Deewana	Guru Gulab Khatri	
2002	Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani	Atul	
2003	Talaash: The Hunt Begins...	Arjun	
2003	Andaaz	Raj Malhotra	
2004	Khakee	Sr. Inspector Shekhar Verma	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
2004	Police Force: An Inside Story	Vijay Singh	
2004	Aan: Men at Work	DCP Hari Om Patnaik	
2004	Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin	Inspector Ajay	
2004	Mujhse Shaadi Karogi	Arun / "Sunny"	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role
2004	Hatya: The Murder	Ravi	
2004	Aitraaz	Raj Malhotra	
2004	Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo	Major Rajeev	
2005	Insan	Amjad	
2005	Bewafaa	Raja	
2005	Waqt: The Race Against Time	Aditya Thakur	
2005	Garam Masala	Makrand / "Mac"	Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role
2005	Deewane Huye Paagal	Rocky Hiranandani	
2005	Dosti: Friends Forever	Raj Malhotra	
2006	Family - Ties of Blood	Shekhar Bhatia	
2006	Mere Jeevan Saathi	Vicky	
2006	Humko Deewana Kar Gaye	Aditiya Malhotra	
2006	Phir Hera Pheri	Raju	
2006	Jaan-E-Mann	Agastya Rao / "Champu"	
2006	Bhagam Bhag	Bunty	
2007	Namastey London	Arjun Singh	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2007	Heyy Babyy	Arush Mehra	
2007	Bhool Bhulaiyaa	Dr. Aditiya Shrivastav	
2007	Om Shanti Om	Himself	Special appearance
2007	Welcome	Rajiv Saini	
2008	Tashan	Bachchan Pandey	
2008	Singh Is Kinng	Happy Singh	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Asian Film Award for Best Actor
2008	Jumbo	Jumbo (voice)	
2009	Chandni Chowk to China	Sidhu Sharma	
2009	8 X 10 Tasveer	Jai Puri / Jeet	
2009	Kambakkht Ishq	Viraj Shergill	
2009	Blue	Aarav Malhotra	
2009	De Dana Dan	Nitin Bankar	
2010	Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai	Himself	Special appearance
2010	Housefull	Aarush	
2010	Khatta Meetha	Sachin Tichkule	
2010	Action Replayy	Kishen	
2010	Tees Maar Khan	Tabrez Mirza Khan /
Tees Maar Khan	
2011	Patiala House	Parghat Singh Kahlon / "Gattu"	
2011	Thank You	Kishen	
2011	Chalo Dilli	Vikram Rana	Guest appearance
2011	Speedy Singhs	Himself	Special appearance in song Shera Di Kaum
2011	Desi Boyz	Jignesh Patel / Jerry / Rocco	
2012	Housefull 2	Aarush	Post-production (Releasing on April 05, 2012)[38]
2012	Rowdy Rathore	Vikram Singh Rathore	Filming (Releasing on June 15, 2012)[39]
2012	Joker		Post-production (Releasing on August 30, 2012)[40]
2012	Khiladi 786		Pre-production (Releasing in November 2012)[41]
2012	Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai 2	Dawood Ibrahim	Pre-production
[edit]
Television appearances
Khatron Ke Khiladi - Season 1 (2008) - Host
Khatron Ke Khiladi - Season 2 (2009) - Host
Amul Master Chef - Season 1 (2010) - Host
Khatron Ke Khiladi - Season 4 (2011) - Host
[edit]
See also
List of Indian Actors
[edit]
References
^ a b c d e f g Verma, Sukanya (5 September 2007). "40 things you didn't know about Akki". Rediff. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ a b "Akshay Kumar meets Jackie Chan in Hong Kong". Bollywood Hungama. May 20, 2004. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
^ a b "Overwhelmed Akshay Kumar dedicates Padmashri to fans". Economic Times. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
^ a b Stacey Yount, Akshay Kumar on Filmi things, BollySpice, 2 March 2008
^ "Main bhi producer!". The Times of India. October 9, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
^ a b c d e f Mohammed, Khalid (22 March 2007). "Akshay Kumar is a Punjabi by nature". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
^ a b c Jasmine Teo (January 18, 2009). "Kumar the kungfu fighter". Malaysia Star. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
^ a b "Box Office 1994". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Top Actor". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Box Office 1995". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Box Office 1996". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Box Office 1997". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Box Office 1999". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ a b "Box Office 2000". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Akshay Kumar's Top 5 Stunts". DesiHits. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
^ "Box Office 2004". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
^ "Box Office 2004". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Box Office 2005". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ a b c "Box Office 2006". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ Adarsh, Taran (20 October 2006). "Jaan-E-Mann Review". indiaFM. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
^ "Akshay Kumar & Preity Zinta in Bollywood New York Shows for Aron Govil Productions". Business Wire India. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "The Toppers Of 2007". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
^ Adarsh, Taran (23 March 2007). "Review of Namastey London". indiaFM. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
^ Adarsh, Taran (15 September 2007). "Top 5: 'Dhamaal' average, 'Darling' slumps!". indiaFM. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ Adarsh, Taran (10 November 2007). "Top 5: 'J.W.M.' steady, despite pre-Diwali dull phase". indiaFM. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
^ Adarsh, Taran (1 January 2008). "Midweek: 'Welcome', 'TZP' continue to rock!". indiaFM. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
^ "Overseas Earnings (Figures in Ind Rs)". 
BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ Bollywood Hungama News Network. "The Most Awaited movies of 2008". IndiaFM. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
^ "Box Office 2008". BoxOffice India. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
^ "Ten Releases Five Disasters". BoxOffice India. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
^ "Blue: Box office Report". 
BollywoodTrade.com. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
^ Vinod Marani (3 May 2010). "Housefull gets biggest opening since 3 Idiots". Rediff. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
^ "
Boxofficeindia.com". 
Boxofficeindia.com. 2010-11-08. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
^ "Akshay Kumar, Russell Peters' Breakaway Gets Media Attention". 
Sawfnews.com. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
^ "Akshay’s production house breaks records in Canada". Times Of India. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
^ "Bollywood Superstar, Akshay Kumar Superhero for his Son « Dubai Chronicle". 
Dubaichronicle.com. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
^ "Akshay Kumar's fitness mantra". 
Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
^ "Release Dates". Bollywood Hungama. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
^ "Release Dates". Bollywood Hungama. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
^ "Release Dates". Bollywood Hungama. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
^ "Release Dates". Bollywood Hungama. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
[edit]
External links
Akshay Kumar at the Internet Movie Database[hide]
v · d · e · 
Filmfare Award for Best Comedian
1967–1980	Mehmood (1967) · Om Prakash (1968) · Johnny Walker (1969) · Mehmood (1970) · I. S. Johar (1971) · Mehmood (1972) · Paintal (1973) · Asrani (1974) · Mehmood (1975) · Deven Verma (1976) · Asrani (1977) · Paintal (1978) · Deven Verma (1979) · Utpal Dutt (1980) · 
1981–2000	Keshto Mukherjee (1981) · Utpal Dutt (1982) · Deven Verma (1983) · Utpal Dutt (1984) · Ravi Baswani (1985) · Amjad Khan (1986) · no award (1987) · no award (1988) · no award (1989) · Anupam Kher – Satish Kaushik (1990) · Kader Khan (1991) · Anupam Kher (1992) · Anupam Kher (1993) · Anupam Kher (1994) · Shakti Kapoor (1995) · Anupam Kher (1996) · Satish Kaushik (1997) · Johnny Lever (1998) · Johnny Lever (1999) · Govinda (2000) ·