In the star-studded world of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar is a name that commands both respect and adulation. He's a two time Filmfare Aware winner and a mighty competitive star. Here is a superstar who just seems to be getting better at everything he does- whether it's acting or producing movies. On this 48th birthday, we attempt to trace the reasons of his brilliant success story.
Back in the sepia-tinted landscape of the 1990s, we saw Akshay doing action flicks such as 'Mohra' and 'Main Khiladi Tu Anaari', indicating he was a powerful action star. And suddenly he went from being a daring cop to a bumbling unlikely comic hero. 'Hera Pheri' was the proof.
Bollywood has made it a bit of a habit. Regardless of their success, mega stars like Salman and Shah Rukh have been put to the sword; of being typecast. Akshay too, was the subject of half-hearted speculation: was he the perfect romantic action star as seen in Khiladi 786 or a comic Johnny- come -lately in Hera Pheri series? But how can you possibly cage a free bird who can excel in both a Singh in King and Rustom.
Right from peaking early in the 90s as Inspector Karan Joglekar to being the unputdownable cop in action whilst holidaying in Holiday- a soldier is never off duty to strutting a vibe of invincibility as top Naval officer Rustom, Akshay Kumar has inspired a generation of moviegoers to stand for the country and uphold the values of dignity and chivalry- true marks of a soldier. This is all thanks to his huge acting repertoire. Bravo Akshay!
Akshay Kumar is kind of an enigma wrapped in a puzzle. Just when we thought, he was settling well in his action cop out to bash the baddies regimen, he took a completely different road. Playing 'God' in Paresh Rawal starrer, 'Oh My God', he became everyone's favourite for his slick portrayal of the lord who inspired an atheist to turn to faith.
In Airlift, a stunner and major crowd puller, Akshay delivered unarguably his finest performance till date, even better than Rustom. His character was a complex one that went easily from being a listless, unstoppable business tycoon in Kuwait to a spirited countryman who helped execute history's largest evacuation under an emergency. The movie was among his best hits of all time.
Being married to the lovely Twinkle Khanna and being the son-in-law of a ravishing beauty in Dimple can't get more sassy. While the women in his life adore him, his co-stars- Jacqueline, Deepika and Asin can't stop raving about the ever smiling actor. Jacqueline in particular has attributed to Akshay a huge reason for her career's turnaround. Kudos hero!
Akshay Kumar can be quite the aggressive competitor. In 2008, he floated his maiden production venture, 'Hari Om Productions', based on his father's name. The company has made memorable movies such as Singh is Kinng, Khatta Meetha and Oh My God. Then again in 2011, Akshay co-founded Grazing Goat Pictures along with Ashvini Yardi. The venture has successfully forayed into regional films making popular Marathi and Punjabi flicks for general entertainment.
There was a time when the baton of action heroes was mightily shouldered by Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. While Akshay has beautifully transitioned from playing effervescent comic heroes and romantic leads, films like Baby (2015) and Holiday: a soldier is never off duty (2014) prove that he's still got the kicks to be a high-octane action star. Agile and supremely fit, Kumar only seems to be getting more in sync with action roles.
In the tumultuous action drama Brothers, Akshay paired conflicted elder brother to Siddharth Malhotra, a role that earned him rave reviews. In Housefull 3 he's been the main lead in a significantly younger star cast of Abhishek Bachchan and Ritesh Deshmukh. While his contemporaries love him, the younger breed seems to adore the evergreen 'Khiladi'.
An experienced exponent of martial arts as exemplified by his 10 black belts, Akshay Kumar has opened as series of martial arts and self-defense academies around Maharashtra. He proudly struts that he teaches self-defense techniques to everyone from maids to women working in conglomerates. And it couldn't get any better since India doesn't particularly enjoy a great image when it comes to defending women's safety.
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