Akshay Kumar Biography – an Indian-born Naturalised Canadian Actor

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Real Name:	Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia
Profession:	Indian Actor
Birthplace:	Amritsar, Punjab, India
Spouse:	Twinkle Khanna
Age:	55

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar, is an Indian-born naturalized Canadian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. In over 30 years of acting, Kumar has appeared in over 100 films and has won several awards, including two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards. He received the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, from the Government of India in 2009. Kumar is one of the most prolific actors in Indian cinema. Forbes included Kumar in their lists of both the highest-paid celebrities and highest-paid actors in the world from 2015 to 2020. Between 2019 and 2020, he was the only Indian on both lists.

Kumar began his career in 1991 with Saugandh and had his first commercial success a year later with the action thriller Khiladi. The film established him as an action star in the 1990s and led to several films in the Khiladi film series, in addition to other action films such as Mohra (1994) and Jaanwar (1999). Although his early tryst with romance in Yeh Dillagi (1994) was positively received, it was in the next decade that Kumar expanded his range of roles. He gained recognition for the romantic films Dhadkan (2000), Andaaz (2003), and Namastey London (2007), and for his slapstick comic performances in several films including Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Singh Is Kinng (2008). Kumar won Filmfare Awards for his negative role in Ajnabee (2001) and his comic performance in Garam Masala (2005).

While his career had fluctuated commercially, his mainstream success soared in 2007 with four consecutive box-office hits; it was consistent until a short period of decline between 2009 and 2011, after which he reinforced his status with several films, including Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Holiday (2014). Moreover, around this time critical response to several of his films improved; his work in Special 26 (2013), Baby (2015), and Airlift (2016) was acclaimed, and he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the Crime thriller Rustom (2016). He earned further notice for his self-produced social films Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) and Pad Man (2018), as well as the war film Kesari (2019), and set box-office records in 2019 with Mission Mangal, Housefull 4, Good Newwz, and the 2021 action film Sooryavanshi.

In addition to acting, Kumar has worked as a stunt actor. In 2008, He started hosting Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi and hosted four seasons. He also launched the TV reality show Dare 2 Dance in 2014 and his off-screen work includes ownership of the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League. The actor had also set up martial arts training schools for women’s safety in the country. Kumar is one of India’s most philanthropic actors and supports various charities. He is a leading brand endorser celebrity in India.

Sometime during or after the 2011 Canadian federal election, the Conservative government granted Canadian citizenship to Kumar by invoking a little-known law that allowed circumventing the usual residency requirement for Canadian immigrants. According to a former Conservative Party minister, Tony Clement, the citizenship was awarded in return for Kumar’s offer of putting his “star power to use to advance Canada-Indian relations”, and Canada’s “trade relations, commercial relations, in the movie sector, in the tourism sector”.

Akshay Kumar Biography
Born	Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia 9 September 1967 (age 55) Amritsar, Punjab, India
Citizenship	Indian until 2011 (relinquished); Canadian thereafter
Alma mater	Guru Nanak Khalsa College of Arts, Science & Commerce
Occupations	Actor film producer television personality
Years active	1991–present
Works	Full list
Spouse	Twinkle Khanna (m. 2001)​
Children	2
Relatives	Rajesh Khanna (father-in-law) Dimple Kapadia (mother-in-law) Rinke Khanna (sister-in-law)
Awards	Full list
Signature

Early life and background (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India, to Hari Om Bhatia and Aruna Bhatia in a Punjabi Hindu family. His father was an army officer. From a young age, Kumar was very interested in sports. His father too enjoyed wrestling. He lived and grew up in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk and later he moved to Bombay (present-day Mumbai) when his father left Army to become an accountant with UNICEF. Soon, his sister was born and the family lived in Koliwada, a Punjabi-dominated area of Central Bombay.

He received his school education from Don Bosco High School, Matunga, simultaneously learning Karate. He enrolled in Guru Nanak Khalsa College for higher education but dropped out as he was not much interested in studies. He requested his father that he wanted to learn martial arts further, and his father somehow saved money to send him to Thailand. Kumar went to Bangkok to learn martial arts and lived in Thailand for five years learning Thai Boxing. Kumar also has a sister, Alka Bhatia. When Kumar was a teenager, his father asked him what he aspired to be. Kumar expressed his desire to become an actor.

After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India, he studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand, where he learned Muay Thai and worked as a chef and waiter. After Thailand, Kumar went to work in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in a travel agency, in Dhaka in a hotel as a chef, and in Delhi where he sold Kundan jewelry. Upon his return to Bombay, he commenced the teaching of martial arts.

During this time, the father of one of his students, himself a model co-ordinator, recommended Kumar into modeling which ultimately led to a modeling assignment for a furniture showroom. Kumar effectively made more money within the first two days of shooting than in his entire month’s salary and therefore chose a modeling career path. He worked as an assistant for photographer Jayesh Sheth for 18 months without payment to shoot his first portfolio. He also worked as a background dancer in various films. One morning, he missed his flight for an ad shoot in Bangalore. Disappointed with himself, he visited a film studio along with his portfolio. That evening, Kumar was signed for a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.

Film career (Akshay Kumar Biography)

1991–1999: Debut, breakthrough, and action films

Kumar made his first appearance as the lead actor opposite Raakhee and Shantipriya in Saugandh (1991). In the same year, he acted in Kishore Vyas-directed Dancer, which received poor reviews. The following year he starred in Abbas Mustan-directed suspense thriller, Khiladi, widely considered his breakthrough role. A review in The Indian Express called the film “an engrossing thriller” and described Kumar as impressive in the lead part, noting his physical appearance, and strong screen presence, and commending him for being “perfectly at ease”. His next release was the Raj Sippy-directed detective film Mr. Bond, based on James Bond. His last release of 1992 was Deedar. It failed to perform well at the box office.

Kumar played a supporting role in Yash Chopra-directed musical romantic drama, Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), co-starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Karisma Kapoor, for which he received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the same year, he starred opposite Juhi Chawla in David Dhawan-directed comedy Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi, the fifth installment of the Khiladi series. Unlike his previous films in the series, it failed commercially. Considerable success, however, came with another dual role in the romantic action film Aflatoon. Khalid Mohamed of Filmfare, while critical of the film, approved of Kumar’s effort: “Akshay Kumar comes to life. Given something even slightly different to do, he does rise to the occasion.” His following releases failed in commercial terms and this caused a setback to his film career. In 1999, Kumar played opposite Twinkle Khanna in International Khiladi. The film did not do well at the box office. He 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 commercial success and marked his comeback.

2000–2006: Hera Pheri and expansion to comedy and romantic films

In 2000, Kumar starred in the Priyadarshan-directed comedy Hera Pheri alongside Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty. The film which was a remake of the Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking, became a commercial success and proved to be a turning point in Kumar’s career. Hindustan Times noted the film’s “intense portrayal of the surreality of the human condition”. He also starred in the Dharmesh Darshan-directed romantic drama Dhadkan later that same year. The film performed moderately at the box office but Kumar was praised for his acting. Rediff.com‘s review stated that he had proved that he is a “director’s actor” and that “he has worked hard on his role is apparent.” That same year, he performed some of his most dangerous stunts in Neeraj Vora-directed action thriller 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. In a later scene, he is also seen being chased by a car, dodging bullets, jumping off buildings, and climbing walls. His character in the film had two names and his role received mixed reviews. Sukanya Verma wrote “Negative roles and Akshay Kumar don’t go hand-in-hand. […] Akshay is ridiculously over the top and irritating to the core. However, he manages a decent performance as the sober and suave Anand.” Padmaraj Nair of Screen, however, believed it was “the best performance of his career”.

The next year Kumar starred in Dharmesh Darshan-directed romantic drama musical film Bewafaa (2005) opposite Kareena Kapoor. He played the role of Raja, an aspiring musician who pursues his love interest Anjali (played by Kareena Kapoor) even after she is married to Aditya Sahai (played by Anil Kapoor). The film received mixed reviews from film critics but Kumar was praised for his acting. Anupama Chopra of India Today wrote that “Kareena Kapoor and Kumar stand out.” Taran Adarsh wrote, “Akshay Kumar does well in a role that fits him like a glove.” Later that year he acted in Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s family drama Waqt: The Race Against Time alongside Amitabh Bachchan, another Priyadarshan-directed comedy Garam Masala alongside John Abraham. Waqt: The Race Against Time was a family drama film. The film and Kumar’s acting received mixed reviews. Vishal D’Souza wrote, “Akshay shoulders an author-backed role, carrying more of the film’s emotional baggage though he is distinctly uncomfortable in the soppy-weepy scenes.” The films succeeded at the box office and his performance in the latter earned him his second Filmfare Award, for Best Comedian. His other films included Vikram Bhatt-directed action comedy romance film Deewane Huye Paagal and Suneel Darshan-directed romantic drama Dosti: Friends Forever. In the former, he starred alongside Shahid Kapoor, Sunil Shetty, and Rimi Sen while in the latter he starred alongside Kareena Kapoor and Bobby Deol. Both of these films received positive reviews.

Kumar’s first release of 2006 was Rajkumar Santoshi-directed drama Family – Ties of Blood followed by Suneel Darshan’s Mere Jeevan Saathi and Raj Kanwar’s Humko Deewana Kar Gaye. Next, 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. Later that year he starred alongside Salman Khan and Preity Zinta in the Shirish Kunder-directed romantic musical film 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. The film received mostly negative reviews. Vidya Pradhan of Rediff.com called it a “bizarre movie.” Though the film underperformed, his role as a shy, lovable nerd was praised. He ended the year with Priyadarshan’s comedy murder mystery film Bhagam Bhag. He starred alongside Lara Dutta, Govinda, and Paresh Rawal and played the character of a theatre actor. The film received mixed reviews and Rediff.com called Kumar the real hero of the film. The film was commercially successful. The same year, he led the Heat 2006 world tour along with fellow stars Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen, and Celina Jaitley.

2007–2011: Commercial success and professional setbacks

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.” His first release, Vipul Amrutlal Shah-directed Namastey London, was critically and commercially successful, and his performance earned him a Best Actor nomination at 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.” Kumar’s chemistry with lead actress Katrina Kaif also generated immense appreciation, with Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India describing their pairing as “refreshing.” His next two releases, Sajid Khan-directed Heyy Babyy and Priyadarshan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa were box-office successes as well. In both of these films, he starred opposite Vidya Balan. Kumar’s last release of the year, the Anees Bazmee-directed Welcome, did extremely well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster status and simultaneously becoming his fifth successive hit. All of Kumar’s films released that year did well in the overseas market as well. Kumar appeared in a cameo role in Farah Khan-directed Om Shanti Om. His role was listed as no. 3 on the Top 10 Cameos in Bollywood list of MensXP.com.

In 2011 he starred in Patiala House and Thank You. His last film of 2011 was Rohit Dhawan-directed Desi Boyz (2011), which co-starred John Abraham, Chitrangada Singh, and Deepika Padukone. 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. Breakaway became the highest-grossing cross-cultural movie of 2011 in Canada. Kumar dubbed for the role of Optimus Prime in the Hindi version of the Hollywood, action blockbuster, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He took the dubbing role for his son, Aarav, and did so for free.

2012: Resurgence

His first release in 2012 was Housefull 2, a sequel to his earlier comedy film Housefull, which became Superhit. Kumar’s next film was the Prabhudeva-directed action drama Rowdy Rathore in which he played a double role opposite Sonakshi Sinha. The film earned more than ₹1.3 billion (US$24.33 million) in India and was declared a Blockbuster. Both of these films grossed over ₹1 billion (US$18.71 million) at the box office. In 2012, he founded another production company called Grazing Goat Pictures Pvt Ltd.

Joker was reportedly promoted as Kumar’s 100th film, but later Akshay Kumar clarified that the 100th film landmark had been crossed long before he even signed up for Joker. “It was a miscalculation on Shirish’s part. OMG is my 116th film,” he said. Kumar kept himself away from the film’s promotion due to differences with Kunder. Reacting to Kumar’s backing out from the film’s promotion Kunder tweeted “A true leader takes responsibility for his team and leads them through thick and thin. Never abandons them and runs away.” He later deleted the tweet. His later release Oh My God which he produced and starred along with Paresh Rawal. It had a slow opening but because of word of mouth, it picked up. His last release in 2012 was Khiladi 786, the eighth installment in his famous Khiladi series as well as the comeback of the series after 12 years. Although the film was panned by critics it grossed 700 million at the domestic box office.

2013–present: Other critical and commercial success

His first release in 2013 was Special Chabbis which earned a positive critical reception and was moderately successful at the box office. Although the movie earned him positive reviews and commercial success, trade analysts noted that the movie could have done much better business due to its good content and Kumar’s high profile. Milan Luthria chose Kumar to play the character of Shoaib Khan (based on Dawood Ibrahim) in the gangster film Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!, the sequel to Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai. It proved to be a below-average at the box office. The film was declared a “flop” by Box Office India. It received mixed reviews however Kumar’s acting was praised by a majority of critics. In a review for Hindustan Times, Anupama Chopra wrote that Kumar “makes a stellar killer”. Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India praised Kumar’s performance and said that “Bhai acts with flamboyance and mojo … He gets a chance to do what he does best – herogiri (albeit less menacing, more entertaining), with charisma and clap-trap dialoguebaazi.” Al Pacino saw the film’s trailer and promos and admired Kumar’s portrayal of Shoaib Khan, a gangster. He said that the promos and posters reminded him of his own The Godfather. Kumar said of Pacino’s response: “A touch of appreciation is always held dearly in an actor’s arms, even if it’s from the simplest of people like our beloved spot boys. But to have your work spoken of so kindly by the world’s most admired gangster Al Pacino himself – I had goosebumps thinking about him watching the promo! I was so humbled, not only as an actor but as a fan of his legendary work.” Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN criticized Kumar for his “in-your-face flamboyance”. After the film’s mainly negative reviews, Kumar lashed out at critics, accusing them of lacking an understanding of the audience and the basic ideas of filmmaking. Built on an approximate budget of ₹1 billion (US$18.71 million), it was the first major Hindi language film to be shot in Oman. Kumar received a nomination for Best Actor in a Negative Role at Zee Cine Awards.

His other movie Rakshabandhan which was released on the extended weekend of 5 days on 11 August received mixed reviews. The Hindu wrote ”The film’s engaging powerful anti-dowry sentiments, along with Akshay’s brilliant comic timing, ensures that there is enough to keep the audience tied for two hours”. The Indian Express rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “Do the filmmakers truly believe that such low-rent family dramas, with their uneasy mix of humor and crassness”. The film couldn’t manage to impress the audience and scored poorly at the Indian ticket windows. The film managed to earn a mere $4.2 million over the extended weekend.

His other release in 2022 was Cuttputlli, which was again a remake of Ratsasan. The movie was released directly on Disney+ Hotstar.

The Hindustan Times wrote “Akshay Kumar got a golden opportunity in the film “Ram Setu” by Abhishek Sharma released on 25 October 2022, as his character is unlike anything he has done in the recent past. Ram Setu embraces the best of the Indiana Jones and National Treasure schools of storytelling with desi action” With the poor performance of Ram Setu, 2022 proved to be one of the worst years for Kumar in recent times.

His first release of 2023 was Selfiee, an official remake of Driving Licence, which also starred Emraan Hashmi, Diana Penty, and Nushrratt Bharuccha. The film bombed at the box office continuing the streak of flops for the actor. Akshay is currently shooting for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, which also stars Tiger Shroff.

His other projects in 2023 include OMG 2 – Oh my God 2, a spiritual successor to OMG – Oh My God, the official remake of Soorarai Pottru, a biopic The Great Indian Rescue, initially titled “Capsule Gill” and Vedat Marathe Veer Daudle Saat, his Marathi debut.

Akshay has also started shooting for multiple projects set to release in 2024 which also includes the much-awaited Hera Pheri sequel.

Personal life (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Kumar married Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of actors Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, on 17 January 2001. Together they have a son and a daughter. He is known as a protective father and keeps his children away from the media. He stated that he wants to “give them a normal childhood.” In 2009, while performing at a show for Levis at Lakme Fashion Week, Kumar asked Twinkle to unbutton his jeans. This incident sparked a controversy which led to a police case being filed against them.

Kumar was initially a religious, practicing Shaiva Hindu who regularly visited shrines and temples across the country, including the famed Vaishno Devi Mandir, but in March 2020 he stated, “I don’t believe in any religion. I only believe in being Indian”.

Citizenship (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Sometime during or after the 2011 Canadian federal election, the Conservative government there granted Canadian citizenship to Kumar by invoking a little-known law that allowed circumventing the usual residency requirement for Canadian immigrants. According to a former Conservative Party minister, Tony Clement, the citizenship was awarded in return for Kumar’s offer of putting his “star power to use to advance Canada-Indian relations,” and Canada’s “trade relations, commercial relations, in the movie sector, in the tourism sector.” Although Kumar had earlier appeared in a campaign event for Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Brampton, Ontario, a city with a large Indo-Canadian population, and praised Harper, Clement denied that the citizenship was a reward for partisan support. Kumar had received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Windsor, and in a 2010 interview with the Economist claimed he had “dual citizenship.” He was one of the 15 international celebrities invited to the Olympics torch-bearer rally in Canada.

In December 2019, Kumar stated that he has applied for an Indian passport and plans to give up his Canadian citizenship.

Filmography (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Films

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Aaj	Karate instructor	Special appearance
1991	Saugandh	Shiva Kirplani
	Dancer	Raju
1992	Khiladi	Raj Malhotra
	Mr. Bond	Mr. Bond
	Deedar	Anand Malhotra
1993	Ashaant	Vijay Roy	Bilingual film
	Dil Ki Baazi	Vijay Kashyap
	Kayda Kanoon	Dawood Durani
	Waqt Hamara Hai	Vikas Sabkuchwala
	Sainik	Lieutenant. Suraj Dutt
1994	Elaan	Vishal Chaudhary
	Yeh Dillagi	Vijayendra “Vijay” Saigal
	Jai Kishen	Jai Verma / Kishen Verma
	Mohra	Amar Saxena
	Main Khiladi Tu Anari	Karan Joglekar
	Ikke Pe Ikka	Rajiv
	Amanaat	Amar Kumar
	Suhaag	Raj Sinha
	Zakhmi Dil	Jaidev Anand
	Zaalim	Ravi Pratap
	Hum Hain Bemisaal	Vijay Sinha
1995	Paandav	Vijay Kumar
	Maidan-E-Jung	Karan Singh
	Nazar Ke Samne	Jai Kumar
	Sabse Bada Khiladi	Vijay “Lallu” Kumar
1996	Tu Chor Main Sipahi	Amar Verma
	Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi	Akshay Malhotra
	Sapoot	Prem Singhania
1997	Lahoo Ke Do Rang	Sikandar Davai
	Insaaf	Vikram Singh Jain
	Daava	Arjun Sarwar
	Tarazu	Ram Yadav
	Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi	Rajant “Raja” Kapoor (Mr. Khiladi)
	Dil To Pagal Hai	Ajay Sahni	Cameo appearance
	Aflatoon	Rocky Chaturvedi / Raja Chaturvedi
1998	Keemat	Dev
	Angaaray	Amar Mehra
	Barood	Jai Sharma
1999	Sangharsh	Aman Verma
	Aarzoo	Vijay Khanna / Devaa
	International Khiladi	Devraj Anand
	Zulmi	Raj Malhotra
	Jaanwar	Baadshah / Babu Lohaar
2000	Hera Pheri	Raju / Rajesh Rathod
	Dhadkan	Ram Verma
	Khiladi 420	Dev Kumar Malhotra / Anand Kumar Malhotra
2001	Ajnabee	Vikram Bajaj
	Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love	Ajay Kapoor
2002	Aadhar	Jagdish’s friend	Cameo appearance; Marathi film
	Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya	Raj Malhotra
	Aankhen	Vishwas Raj Prajapati
	Awara Paagal Deewana	Guru Gulab Khatri
	Jaani Dushman	Atul Agarwal
2003	Talaash	Arjun Raichand
	Andaaz	Raj Malhotra
2004	Khakee	Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma
	Police Force	Vijay Singh
	Aan: Men at Work	DCP Hari Om Pattnaik
	Mujhse Shaadi Karogi	Arun “Sunny” Khanna
	Hatya	Ravi Lal
	Aitraaz	Raj Malhotra
	Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin	Ajay Khanna
	Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo	Rajeev Singh
2005	Insan	Amjad Khan
	Bewafaa	Raja Bhosle
	Waqt	Aditya Thakur
	Garam Masala	Makrand “Mac” Godbole
	Deewane Huye Paagal	Ranbir “Rocky” Hiranadani
	Dosti: Friends Forever	Raj Malhotra
2006	Family	Simple Cook Shekhar Bhatia
	Mere Jeevan Saathi	Vicky Bahl
	Humko Deewana Kar Gaye	Aditya Malhotra
	Phir Hera Pheri	Raju / Rajesh Rathod
	Jaan-E-Mann	Agastya Rao
	Bhagam Bhag	Bunty Rajkumar
2007	Namastey London	Arjun Singh
	Heyy Babyy	Aarush Mehra	75th Film
	Bhool Bhulaiyaa	Aditya Shrivastava
	Om Shanti Om	Himself	Special appearance
	Welcome	Rajiv Saini
2008	Tashan	Bachchan Pandey
	Singh Is Kinng	Happy Singh
	Jumbo	Jaybir “Jumbo” Singh	Also narrator
2009	Chandni Chowk to China	Sidhu / Sidhesh Sharma
	8 x 10 Tasveer	Jai Puri / Jeet Puri
	Kambakkht Ishq	Viraj Shergill
	Blue	Aarav Malhotra
	De Dana Dan	Nitin Bankar
2010	Housefull	Aarush Awasthi
	Khatta Meetha	Sachin Tichkule
	Action Replayy	Kishen Kumar Chopra
	Tees Maar Khan	Tabrez Mirza Khan / Tees Maar Khan
2011	Patiala House	Parghat Singh “Gattu” Kahlon
	Thank You	Kishen Khurana
	Breakaway	Himself	Special appearance
	Desi Boyz	Jignesh “Jerry” Patel / Rocco
	Chalo Dilli	Lieutenant Colonel Vikram Singh Rana	Cameo appearance
2012	Housefull 2	Sunny Pujari / Sunil
	Rowdy Rathore	Shiva / Shivam Bharadwaj ASP Vikram Singh Rathore
	Joker	Rajkumar Joker Sattu / Agastya Sattu
	OMG – Oh My God!	God Krishna Vasudev Yadav
	Khiladi 786	Bahattar Singh / Tehattar Singh
2013	Bhaji in Problem	Himself	Special appearance; Punjabi film
	Special 26	Ajay Singh Vardhan
	Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara!	Criminal Shoaib Khan
	Boss	Suryakant Shastri / Surya “Boss”
	Bombay Talkies	Himself	Guest appearance in song “Apna Bombay Talkies”
2014	Holiday	Captain Virat Bakshi
	Fugly	Himself	Special appearance in the song “Fugly Fugly Kya Hai”
	Entertainment	Akhil Johri
	The Shaukeens	Himself / Rajiv Bhatia
2015	Baby	Ajay Singh Rajput
	Hey Bro	Himself	Special appearance in the song “Birju”
	Gabbar Is Back	Professor Aditya “Gabbar” Singh Rajput
	Brothers	David Fernandes
	Singh Is Bling	Raftaar Singh
2016	Airlift	Ranjit Katyal
	Housefull 3	Sanket “Sandy” Sehgal / Sundy
	Dishoom	Sameer Gazi	Cameo
	Rustom	Rustom Pavri
2017	Jolly LLB 2	Advocate Jagdishwar “Jolly” Mishra
	Naam Shabana	Ajay Singh Rajput	Cameo appearance
	Toilet: Ek Prem Katha	Keshav Sharma
2018	Pad Man	Lakshmi Kant Chauhan
	Gold	Tapan Das
	2.0	Pakshi Rajan	Tamil film
	Simmba	DCP Veer “Surya” Sooryavanshi	Special appearance / Post Credit Scene
2019	Kesari	Havildar Ishar Singh
	Blank	Himself	Special appearance in the song “Ali Ali”
	Mission Mangal	Rakesh Dhawan
	Housefull 4	Harry Sinha / Bala Dev Singh
	Good Newwz	Varun Batra
2020	Laxmii	Asif Ahmed
2021	Bell Bottom	Anshul Malhotra / Bell Bottom
	Sooryavanshi	DCP Veer Sooryavanshi “Surya”
	Atrangi Re	Sajjad Ali Khan
2022	Bachchhan Paandey	Bachchan Pandey
	Samrat Prithviraj	Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan
	Raksha Bandhan	Lala Kedarnath Agarwal
	Cuttputlli	SI Arjan Sethi
	Ram Setu	Aryan Kulshrestha
	An Action Hero	Himself	Cameo appearance
2023	Selfiee	Vijay Kumar
OMG 2	Messenger of Lord Shiva
The Great Indian Rescue †	Jaswant Singh Gill	Filming
2024	Untitled remake of Soorarai Pottru †	Major Jai Singh	Post-production
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan †	TBA	Filming
Vedat Marathe Veer Daudle Saat †	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj	Filming; Marathi film
Hera Pheri 3 †	Raju / Rajesh Rathod	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Seven Deadly Art with Akshay Kumar	Host
2008–2009, 2011	Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi	Host	Season 1, 2, 4
2010	MasterChef India	Host	Season 1
2012		Himself	Season 2; Special appearance
2013	Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah		Special appearance
2014–2017	Jamai Raja	Producer
2014	Dare 2 Dance	Host
2017	The Great Indian Laughter Challenge	Judge
2019	Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 9	Himself	Guest
2020	Into The Wild With Bear Grylls

Music videos (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Title	Role	Singer
2019	Filhall	Dr. Kabir Malhotra	B Praak
2020	Muskurayega India	Himself	Vishal Mishra
2021	Filhaal 2: Mohabbat	Dr. Kabir Malhotra	B Praak
2023	Kya Loge Tum	Unnamed

Dubbing artist

Title	Actor	Role	Dub language	Original language	Original year release	Dub year release	Notes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Peter Cullen	Optimus Prime	Hindi	English	2011	2011

Production (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Films productions

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Hindi films

Year	Film	Director	Distributed By
2008	Singh is Kinng	Anees Bazmee	Indian Films
2010	Khatta Meetha	Priyadarshan	Eros Now
	Action Replayy	Vipul Amrutlal Shah	PVR Pictures
	Tees Maar Khan	Farah Khan	UTV Motion Pictures
2011	Patiala House	Nikkhil Advani	T-Series
	Thank You	Anees Bazmee	UTV Motion Pictures
	Breakaway	Robert Lieberman	Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
2012	Joker	Shirish Kunder	UTV Motion Pictures
	Khiladi 786	Ashish R Mohan	Eros Now
2013	Boss	Anthony’D Suza	Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
2014	Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty	A. R. Murugadoss	Reliance Entertainment
	The Shaukeens	Abhishek Sharma	AA Films
2015	Baby	Neeraj Pandey	AA Films T-Series
2016	Airlift	Raja Krishna Menon
	Rustom	Tinu Suresh Desai	Panorama Studios Zee Studios International
2017	Naam Shabana	Shivam Nair	Reliance Entertainment
	Toilet: Ek Prem Katha	Shree Narayan Singh	Viacom 18 Motion Pictures Reliance Entertainment
2018	Pad Man	R. Balki	Sony Pictures Releasing
	Gold	Reema Kagti	AA Films Zee Studios International
2019	Mission Mangal	Jagan Shakti	Zee Studios
	Kesari	Anurag Singh
	Good Newwz	Raj Mehta
2020	Laxmii	Raghava Lawrence	Disney+ Hotstar
	Durgamati	G. Ashok	Amazon Prime Video
2021	Sooryavanshi	Rohit Shetty	Reliance Entertainment PVR Pictures
	Atrangi Re	Aanand L. Rai	Disney+ Hotstar
2022	Raksha Bandhan		Zee Studios
	Ram Setu	Abhishek Sharma
2023	Selfiee	Raj Mehta	Star Studios
	OMG 2 †	Amit Rai	Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Marathi films (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Film	Director	Distributed By
2013	72 Miles	Rajiv Patil	Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
2017	Chumbak	Sandeep Modi	AA Films

Television and other work (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Television

In 2004, Kumar presented seven-part miniseries Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar for free, played master and learner as he introduces viewers to each of the seven parts of martial arts-kalarippayattu, Shaolin Kung Fu, karate, taekwondo, aikido, Muay Thai, capoeira, the show aired on every following Sunday. The following year Kumar was awarded the highest Japanese honor of “Katana” and a sixth-degree black belt in Kuyukai Gōjū-ryū karate.

In 2008, Kumar started India’s stunt/action reality game show – “Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi“. He hosted Season 1, Season 2, and Season 4. The show was widely accepted and appreciated and became hugely successful in popular culture. It is still being run by Rohit Shetty.

In 2011, Kumar hosted India’s first MasterChef television show on Star Plus, which was viewed by 18.2 million viewers, and went on to prove that Indian audiences are open to experimenting and look forward to innovations in television entertainment.

In 2014, He hosted another reality show Dare 2 Dance as a mentor, which aired on Life OK from 6 September. It broke the norms of a regular dance format with a commitment of a ‘first of its kind. A dance show where trained and famed dancers weren’t judged only on the basis of their dance performances, but they had to perform stunts to survive on the dance floor.

In 2014, Kumar also produced a successful television serial Jamai Raja (2014), starring Ravi Dubey and Nia Sharma, which established them as leading actors in the Indian television industry.

In 2017, he judged The Great Indian Laughter Challenge with Mallika Dua, Hussain Dalal, and Zakir Khan, later they were replaced by Sajid Khan and Shreyas Talpade. The show made many popular names including Vishwash Chauhan and Shyam Rangeela.

Kumar joined Bear Grylls for an episode in “Into The Wild”, which aired on Discovery channel on 14 September 2020. The episode was the second highest-rated show in the infotainment genre (Discovery Channel) in terms of TRP. 1.1 crore people watched the premiere on Discovery Network channels.

Fitness work and stage performances

Kumar promotes health fitness and exercising, and stays in shape with a combination of kickboxing, basketball, swimming, and Parkour as well as working out. While in standard eighth he started practicing Karate. He intended to open a martial arts school and the state government of Maharashtra allotted land for the school in Bhayandar.

He helped Khanna with editing the drafts of her debut book Mrs Funnybones. He is a teetotaller but has endorsed a liquor brand in the past. Half of the sum was given to Daan (charity work), of which he has been doing more in recent times. In 2013, one of his fans traveled from Haryana to Mumbai, to meet him. The journey took him 42 days. When he reached Kumar’s building, he was informed that Kumar was in Casablanca. The fan stayed outside the building for one week before Kumar met him. Kumar has come out in support and lauded the Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for his stand against corruption. The minister said that the government entrusted CBI with the investigation against the corrupt officials in the sports department.

On 9 August 2014, Kumar performed at his 500th live show. The show was held in O2 Arena in London as part of the inaugural function of the World Kabaddi League. His first live show was held in 1991 in Delhi. Kumar owns Bengal Warriors a team in the Indian Kabbadi League. Akshay Kumar sets himself on fire at his upcoming The End series launch with Prime Video, saying he’s a stuntman first and actor later.

In the media (Akshay Kumar Biography)

In Indian media, Kumar is referred to as Khiladi or Khiladi Kumar for doing so many dangerous stunts by himself and also because of his Khiladi film series. In 2009, Madame Tussauds wanted to make his wax figure next because he has an international fan following. But he declined and said, “he doesn’t want to be waxed because he does not think it is of that great importance”. From 2015, he was continuously feathered in Forbes’ highest-paid actors’ top 10 list. In 2019, he was the fourth highest-paid actor in the world behind Dwayne Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, and Robert Downey Jr. On the Forbes US list of the World’s 33rd Highest Earners with $65M. In 2020, He ranked sixth and the only Indian actor in the top 10 of the highest-paid actors list with $48.5M. Kumar is the first Indian film actor, whose films’ domestic net lifetime collections crossed ₹20 billion (US$341.31 million) in 2013, and ₹30 billion (US$446.46 million) in 2016.

Kumar holds the Guinness World Record for 184 Selfies taken in three minutes at a promotional event for his film Selfiee in Mumbai. He talked to the media and termed it as a ‘way of paying tribute’ to his fans. In March 2023, Kumar performed in various cities in the United States for “The Entertainers” tour, alongside Disha Patani, Mouni Roy, Nora Fatehi, Sonam Bajwa, Aparshakti Khurana, Stebin Ben, and Zahrah S Khan.

Philanthropy and social service

Kumar is one of India’s most philanthropic celebrities, does a lot of help and donations, and continues the good work offscreen with his philanthropy and services. He and his co-star Tamannaah Bhatia donated all the clothes from their film 2014 Entertainment to an animal welfare charity. Youth Organisation in Defence of Animals  (YODA) is an organization that works for the welfare of street animals. He has also donated ₹5 million (US$93,567.08) to Salman Khan‘s Being Human Foundation. Kumar also donated a sum of ₹9 million to drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra in 2015, Khan himself tweeted on Twitter. Kumar also helped a contestant of the TV reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi by giving him Rs. 25 lacks after knowing that the contestant needed the prize money of the show for his father’s cancer treatment. He has also donated ₹5 million to aid drought-affected people through the Maharashtra government’s Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan. In March 2013, he started a 30-bed cancer shelter for policemen in Naigaon. In December 2013, Vishwas Nangre Patil, Additional Commissioner of Police, West Mumbai visited his gym along with several trainee officers. Acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, on whose life Deepika Padukone‘s Chapaak was based is also an activist. Some years ago, she was struggling to make ends meet. Kumar came to her rescue and transferred Rs. 5 Lakh into her account so that she could fend for herself until she found a job because medals, awards, and certificates don’t pay the bills.

Kumar was one of the first personalities from Bollywood to contribute to the PM CARES Fund right at the start of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, He donated Rs. 25 crores to the Prime Minister’s Fund and another crore to ex-cricketer Gautam Gambhir’s charity for the same cause. The former cricketer revealed on Twitter that Akshay Kumar had donated Rs. 1 crore to his foundation during the deadly second wave to help people affected by the novel coronavirus. Gambhir wrote, “Every help in this gloom comes as a ray of hope. Thanks a lot, Akshay Kumar for committing Rs 1 crore to #GGF for food, meds, and oxygen for the needy! God bless.” In 2021, Kumar donated ₹1 crore for the construction of a school building in Neeru Village of Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Awards and nominations (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Civilian award

• 2009 – Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India.

Honorary Doctorate

• 2008 – Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada for his outstanding work in the film industry and contribution to social work.

The Asian Awards (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Category	For	Result
2011	Outstanding Achievement in Cinema		Won

Asian Film Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2009	Asian Film Award for Best Actor	Singh Is Kinng	Nominated

National Film Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2017	Best Actor	Rustom	Won
2019	Best Film on Other Social Issues	Pad Man	Won

Filmfare Awards (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Category	For	Result
1995	Best Actor	Yeh Dillagi	Nominated
1998	Best Supporting Actor	Dil To Pagal Hai	Nominated
2002	Best Villain	Ajnabee	Won
2005	Best Supporting Actor	Khakee	Nominated
		Mujhse Shaadi Karogi	Nominated
	Best Comedian		Nominated
2006		Garam Masala	Won
2008	Best Actor	Namastey London	Nominated
2009		Singh Is Kinng	Nominated
2013	Best Supporting Actor	OMG: Oh My God!	Nominated
2015	Best Actor	Holiday	Nominated
2018		Toilet: Ek Prem Katha	Nominated
2019		Pad Man	Nominated
2020		Kesari	Nominated

Filmfare Awards South

Year	Category	For	Result
2019	Best Supporting Actor – Tamil	2.0	Nominated

Screen Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2005	Best Supporting Actor	Mujhse Shaadi Karogi	Nominated
2005	Jodi No. 1 (along with Priyanka Chopra)	Aitraaz	Nominated
2009	Best Actor (Popular Choice)	Singh Is Kinng	Won

IIFA Awards (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Category	For	Result
2000	Best Actor	Dhadkan	Nominated
2002	Best Villain	Ajnabee	Won
2005	Best Comedian	Mujhse Shaadi Karogi	Won
2006		Garam Masala	Nominated
2008	IIFA Special Award from the host country, Thailand		Won
	Best Actor	Bhool Bhulaiyaa	Nominated
2009	IFA Star of the Decade – Male		Nominated
2013	Best Supporting Actor	OMG: Oh My God!	Nominated
2018	Best Actor	Toilet: Ek Prem Katha	Nominated

Stardust Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2005	Best Actor in a Comic Role	Mujhse Shaadi Karogi	Nominated
2008	Star of the Year – Male	Heyy Babyy & Namastey London	Won
2009		Singh Is Kinng	Nominated
	Best Film (Popular)		Won
2010	Best Actor – Popular (Male)	Blue	Won
	Best Actor (Critics)	8 x 10 Tasveer	Won
	Best Actor in a Comic Role	De Dana Dan	Nominated
2011	Star of the Year – Male	Housefull and Tees Maar Khan	Won
	Best Actor in a Comedy or Romance		Won
2012		Desi Boyz	Won
2013	Best Actor – Action/Thriller	Rowdy Rathore and Khiladi 786	Won

BIG Star Entertainment Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2012	Most Entertaining Social Film	OMG: Oh My God!	Won
	Complete Entertainer of the Year – Male	—	Won
	Most Entertaining Actor in a Thriller Role – Male	Rowdy Rathore	Won
	Most Entertaining Actor in an Action Role – Male		Won
2013		Boss	Nominated
	Most Entertaining Actor in a Thriller Role – Male	Special 26	Nominated
	BIG Star Most Entertaining Actor (Film) – Male		Nominated
2020	Most Challenging Actor	Kesari	Nominated

Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2008	Best Entertainer of the Year 2007	Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa & Welcome	Won
2015	Special Award	Completing 25 years in the industry	Won

Zee Cine Awards (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Film	Category	Result
2006	Waqt: The Race Against Time	Best Actor – Male	Nominated
2008	Namastey London		Nominated
2011	Housefull		Nominated
2012	—	International Male Icon	Nominated
2014	Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara	Best Actor in a Negative Role – Male	Nominated
2016	Baby	Best Actor – Male	Nominated
2017	Airlift		Nominated
2018	The State vs Jolly LL.B 2	Best Actor – Male (Viewers Choice)	Won
	Toilet: Ek Prem Katha		Nominated

Star Box Office Awards (Akshay Kumar Biography)

Year	Category	For	Result
2014	Box Office 1000 Crore Club Hero	Achievement in Bollywood	Won
	Mr. Box Office	Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty	Nominated
	Mr. Money Bags		Nominated

Indian Television Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2009	Radio Mirchi Presents Best Television Personality		Won

‘Hello! Hall Of Fame’ Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2010	Stylish Couple Of The Year Award (along with Twinkle Khanna)		Won

Star’s Sabsey Favourite Awards

Year	Category	For	Result
2009	Actor of the Year		Won
2010			Won

South Indian International Movie Awards

 

Year	Category	For	Result
2019	Best Actor in a Negative Role–Tamil	2.0	Nominated

Other awards (Akshay Kumar Biography)

• 2002 – Sansui Viewers’ Choice Movie Awards: Best Actor in a Villainous Role for Ajnabee
• 2003 – Bollywood Fashion Awards: Celebrity Style (Male)
• 2006 – Bollywood People’s Choice Awards: Best Comic Performance for Garam Masala
• 2006 – Best Action Actor at AXN Action Awards
• 2010 – Best Action Actor in a Negative Role at AXN Action Awards for Blue
• 2008 – Asia’s Sexiest Man Alive
• 2015 – Filmfare Glamour & Style Awards: Most Glamorous Star (Male).
• 2015 – GQ Awards: Ultimate Man Of The Year Award.
• 2018 – GQ India Style Awards: GQ Legend award.
• 2018 – Lions Gold Award Best Actor Popular (For selfless contribution towards the nation through social message in films)
• 2018 – Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Best Actor Award for Pad man.
• 2019 – HT India’s Most Stylish – Hottest Trendsetter (Male).
• 2004 – Rajiv Gandhi Award for his Outstanding achievements in Bollywood.
• 2009 – IIFA-FICCI Frames, “Most Powerful Entertainer of the Decade Award” for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Honors and recognitions

• 2008 – Named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People (India) magazine.2009 – He was awarded the highest Japanese honor of “Katana” and a sixth-degree Black Belt in Kuyukai Gojuryu Karate.
• 2009 – He was one of the 15 international celebrities invited to the Olympics torch-bearer rally in Canada.
• 2012 – He inaugurated the 43rd International Film Festival of India in Goa.
• 2013 – Named “Reader’s Choice Style Icon”.

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