Akshay Kumar

Born                 Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia

                          9 September 1967 (age 48)

                           Amritsar, Punjab, India

Residence        Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Other names    Akki

                           Khiladi

                           Khiladi Kumar

                           King of Bollywood

Ethnicity          Punjabi

Occupation      Actor, producer, presenter

Years active     1991–present

Spouse(s)         Twinkle Khanna (2001–present)

Children           2

Relatives          Rajesh Khanna (Father-in-law)

                          Dimple Kapadia (Mother-in-law)

                          Rinke Khanna (Sister-in-law)

Awards                          Padam Shri

Signature

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967) better known as Akshay Kumar is an Indian actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has been nominated for Filmfare Awards several times, winning it two times. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was known for his appearances in films of the "Khiladi series" as well as other action films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Mohra (1994), Elaan (1994), Suhaag (1994), Sapoot (1996).

Later, Kumar also gained fame for his drama, romance, action and comic roles. His performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dhadkan (2000), Andaaz (2003) and Namastey London (2007), as well as drama films such as Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005). His comic performances in comedy films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Singh Is Kinng (2008) met with acclaim. In 2007, he starred in four consecutive commercially successful films. Kumar hit a rough patch since 2009 to 2011 but came back with two successes, Housefull 2 (2012) and Rowdy Rathore (2012) with both of them grossing over ₹1 billion (US$15 million). His other films like OMG (2012), Special 26 (2013) and Holiday (2014) were highly successful critically and commercially.

 

In February 2013, many media outlets reported that the net box-office collection of Kumar's films had crossed ₹20 billion (US$310 million) and he was the first and the only Bollywood actor to do so. According to Boxofficeindia, Kumar is one of the most successful actor in the history of Indian Cinema Having done so, he has established himself as a leading contemporary actor of Hindi cinema.

Apart from acting, Kumar has also worked as a stunt actor; he has often performed many dangerous stunts in his films, which has earned him the sobriquet "Indian Jackie Chan". In 2008, he hosted the show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. The next year, he founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company.

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. In 2011 The Asian Awards honoured Kumar for his outstanding achievement in Cinema. In 2012 he founded another production company called Grazing Goat Pictures.

In 2014, Kumar launched TV realty show Dare 2 Dance. He also owns the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League.

 

Early life and background

Akshay Kumar was born in Amritsar, India to Hari Om Bhatia and Aruna Bhatia. His father Hari Om Bhatia was a military officer. From a young age, Kumar was recognised as a performer, particularly as a dancer. He lived in Delhi's Chandni Chowk till he was three years old before moving to Mumbai where he lived in Koliwada, a Punjabi dominated area. He received his school education from Don Bosco School and enrolled in Mumbai's Guru Nanak Khalsa College for higher education, but dropped out after an year and went to Bangkok to learn martial arts. 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. Upon his return to Mumbai, he commenced the teaching of martial arts. One of his students, an aspiring photographer, recommended Kumar into modelling which ultimately led to a modelling assignment. Kumar effectively made more money within the first two days of shooting, in comparison to his entire months salary, and therefore chose a modelling career path. 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. Fortunately that evening, Kumar was signed for a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.

 

Personal life and off-screen work

After being engaged twice to actress Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of actors Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, Kumar married her on 17 January 2001. Their first child was a boy, whom they named Aarav. Twinkle gave birth to their second child, daughter Nitara, on 25 September 2012. 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 stays in shape with a combination of kickboxing, basketball, swimming and Parkour as well as working out. While in standard eighth he had started practising Karate. He intended to open a martial arts school and the state government of Maharashtra allotted land for the school in Bhayandar. In 2004, he was honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Award for his outstanding achievements in Bollywood. In the same year, he presented the television series Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar for free. In 2008, he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People (India) magazine. The following year Kumar was awarded the highest Japanese honour of "Katana" and a sixth degree black belt in Kuyukai Gōjū-ryū karate. He was one of the 15 international celebrities invited for the Olympics torch-bearer rally to Canada. He became responsible to endorse the Canadian Tourism by sharing the duty of Brand Ambassador till the summer of 2012. In March 2013, he started a 30-bed cancer shelter for policemen in Naigaon. Kumar is a teetotaller but has endorsed for a liquor brand. Half of the sum was given for charity work. He has also donated ₹50 lakh (US$77,000) to Salman Khan's Being Human Foundation. As of 2013, Kumar has been Hindi film industry's highest advance taxpayer for six consecutive years. He paid ₹19 crore (US$2.9 million) as advance tax payment in that year.

In 1997, Kumar endorsed for Pepsi. He previously endorsed for Thums Up for several years. He had also endorsed for Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India, footwear brand Relaxo, Dollar Club, Micromax Mobile, Red Label, LG Electronics and Manappuram Gold Loan. 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 a team in the Kabbadi League.

 

Filmography, awards and nominations

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.In 2011 The Asian Awards honoured Kumar for his outstanding achievement in Cinema.