Akshay Kumar is an Indian actor, TV host, and producer who is known as the Khiladi of Bollywood because he has been part of over eight movies with the word Khiladi in it. Before entering Bollywood, the actor was an aspiring martial artist and was in Bangkok to study the art form. While there, he pursued cooking for a living. From being a cook in Bangkok to becoming a famous Bollywood star, Akshay Kumar is a role model for those who dream big. He made his mark in the industry on sheer talent and hard work, despite his good looks and pleasant personality. He first came into the limelight with the movie Khiladi and went on to become a top Bollywood actor with Yeh Dillagi.

Kumar has also appeared on television and has hosted reality adventure series Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi, and also launched a dance reality show called Dare 2 Dance. In the year 2008, the actor started his own production company called Hari Om Productions. Under this banner, Akshay Kumar co-produced several movies, in which he appeared too, such as Singh Is Kinng, Action Replayy, and Tees Maar Khan, to name a few. In 2011, Kumar co-founded another film and TV production house, Grazing Goat Pictures, and its first project was OMG - Oh My God!, which he co-starred with actor Paresh Rawal.

He is best remembered for his roles in Namastey London, Hera Pheri, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, and Airlift among many others. From drama and action to comedy, Akshay Kumar is one actor who`s done it all.

He has been honored with the Rajiv Gandhi Award in 2004 for his great contributions to Bollywood and has also been awarded the Padma Shri in 2009, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his contribution to Indian cinema. The University of Windsor recognized his contribution to Indian cinema by presenting to him an Honorary Doctorate of Law.

EARLY LIFE

Born as Rajeev Bhatia on 9th September 1967 to Hari Om Bhatia and Aruna Bhatia, in Amritsar, Akshay Kumar grew up in Old Delhi`s Chandni Chowk area. He later moved to Mumbai where he completed his schooling from Don Bosco School, after which he joined Guru Nanak Khalsa College for his higher education. However, he dropped out and traveled to Bangkok to learn martial arts. In Bangkok, he learned Muay Thai, a form of martial arts, while working as a chef and waiter. After returning to Mumbai, Akshay Kumar began teaching martial arts.

PERSONAL LIFE

The actor has had a series of alleged affairs and link-ups before he tied the knot with Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia`s elder daughter Twinkle Khanna in 2001. Much before getting married, Akshay was apparently dating the then well-known model Pooja Batra. The two were in a relationship before Akshay entered the industry.

Upon starting his career in Bollywood, he allegedly started dating his Khiladi co-star Ayesha Jhulka. But it was his affair with the 90`s bombshell Raveena Tandon that grabbed the limelight.

However, after he split with Raveena, he started dating Shilpa Shetty. The two created magic on-screen and their romance bloomed off-screen too. The Khiladi then tied the knot with Twinkle Khanna and the two have two children together - Aarav and Nitara.

The Khiladi follows a disciplined lifestyle and makes it a point to wake up before sunrise and practice kickboxing, basketball, Parkour, and martial arts to stay fit.

ACTING CAREER

When Kumar returned to Mumbai after his martial arts training, he began teaching the art form. He then tried his luck at modeling when a student of his pursued him to give it a shot, paving his way into Bollywood. He enjoyed modeling for a brief period, assisted photographer Jayesh Seth, and also worked as a background dancer and stunt actor before producer Pramod Chakravarthy signed him for his movie Deedar. However, he was first seen on the big screen in the 1991 release Saugandh opposite Raakhee and Shantipriya. After his debut, he was seen in Dancer, which failed to garner him any praises. It was only after he was signed by Abbas-Mustan in their suspense-thriller Khiladi that he received fame and appreciation.

After a series of commercially unsuccessful movies, Akshay Kumar was seen in Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Mohra in 1994. In the same year, he appeared in Yash Chopra`s Yeh Dillagi, which earned him a Filmfare nomination for Best Actor. After having delivered 11 movies in the year 1994, of which most were hit, he emerged as a successful actor.

The Khiladi received critical acclaim for his performances in movies like Sangharsh and Jaanwar, which marked his comeback after a couple of flop films. After being a part of action, thriller, suspense, romance, and drama movies, the actor stepped into the genre of comedy with director Priyadarshan`s Hera Pheri, which marked a turning point in his career. He was then seen donning a negative role in Abbas-Mustan`s suspense-thriller Ajnabee, which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Villain and IIFA Award for Performance in a Negative Role. Kumar then appeared in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi in 2004. However, it was his performance in Aitraaz which was one of his best performances in that year.

After delivering innumerable brilliant performances and being a part of many movies, the year 2007 proved to be the most successful year for him. He appeared in hit films like Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Welcome, all of which were commercially successful movies. Despite a number of hits, Kumar featured in movies that bombed at the box office like Farah Khan`s Tees Maar Khan, From Chandni Chowk To China, Joker and Action Replayy.

The actor was then seen doing content-heavy movies such as Special Chabbis, Baby, Gabbar Is Back, and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty. In 2016, Akshay was seen in two real-life stories, Airlift and Rustom, for which he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor in 2017. The next year, in 2017, Kumar was cast in the second installment of the Jolly LL.B series titled The State vs Jolly LL.B 2 or commonly called just Jolly LLB 2.

Reprising the role of Ajay Singh Rajput, Akshay was seen in the 2017 action thriller Naam Shabana. His other projects for the year include the satirical comedy Toilet - Ek Prem Katha. In 2018, he featured in Padman. The same year, he was seen alongside the superstar of Tamil cinema Rajinikanth in 2.0, the sequel to the 2010 fantasy action Robot. Further, Akshay was seen in Reema Kagti`s sports history drama Gold.

In 2019, Akshay starred in the movie Kesari. His other project in the same year includes Housefull 4. Akshay`s 2020 release includes Laxmii. He has also co-produced Durgamati (2020). His other releases include Bell Bottom (2021), Sooryavanshi (2021), Atrangi Re (2021), Prithviraj (2022), Bachchan Pandey (2022), Ram Setu (2022) and Raksha Bandhan (2022).