During the 90s, Kumar was known as the action hero of Bollywood, starring in hit action films such as Khiladi (1992), Mohra (1994) and Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), and being notably known for his action "Khiladi Series". However, he was also praised for his performances in successful romantic films like Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dhadkan (2000) and Ek Rishtaa (2001), proving himself as a capable actor with different ranges of roles. He won his first Filmfare Award under the Best Villain category for his performance in Ajnabee (2001). Kumar later ventured into comedy films for which he has received much appreciation. His comic performances in films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005) and Jaan-E-Mann (2006) met with huge acclaim. Balancing commercial crowd attractions with critical success, he has established himself as one of the most prominent leading actors of the industry.
Early Life
Akshay Kumar lived in Delhi for some time before moving to Mumbai.[1] He lived in Koliwada which was a Punjabi dominated area. And then moved to Amritsar.[1] He studied at Don Basco school and then Khalsa College, where he took an interest in sports.[1]
He studied martial arts in Bangkok and worked as a Chef. His fall into acting came when producer Pramod Chakravarthy, saw his portfolio and offered the lead role in Deedar.[1]
[edit] Career
His first Bollywood film was Saugandh in 1991 which was unnoticed.
His first major hit was the 1992 thriller film Khiladi. 1993 saw a drop as many of his films failed to do well. However, 1994 proved to be a good year for Kumar as he followed up his success with Khiladi with the action thriller Main Khiladi Tu Anari and the action hit Mohra which was one of the highest grossing films of the year.[2]Later that year, Yash Chopra signed him for the romantic film Yeh Dillagi which was also a success.[3] He received appreciation for his performance in this film, where he played a romantic role which was different compared to his action roles. Consequently, he received various nominations for Best Actor award at the Filmfare and Star Screen ceremonies. All these achievements, promoted Kumar as one of the most successful actors of that year.[4]
In 1995, along with his share of unsuccessful movies, he starred in the third film in his Khiladi series Sabse Bada Khiladi, which was another hit. He proved to have success with the Khiladi series, as in the next year he starred in the fourth hit film with Khiladi in the title, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi opposite Rekha and Raveena Tandon, which was one of the highest grossing films of the year.[5]
In 1997, he made an extended guest appearance 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 which was unsuccessful.[6] Along with this film, his next few Khiladi films went on to fail at the box office. In 1999, he received critical acclaim for his roles in the films Sangharsh and in the box office hit Jaanwar.[7]
In 2000 he starred in the comedy Hera Pheri (2000) which was a success[8] and showcased his talent at doing comedy just as well as action or romantic roles. He also starred in the romantic film Dhadkan later that same year which was also a box office hit.[9] In 2001, Kumar played a negative role in the film Ajnabee for which he won much acclaim as well as the Filmfare Best Villain Award.
After the success of Hera Pheri, he starred in many successful comedy films which include Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and Garam Masala (2005)[10]
Apart from his action, comedy and romantic roles he also displayed a flair for dramatic roles in films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001), Ajnabee (2001), Bewafaa (2005) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) which did moderately well in India,[11] but was a hit overseas.[12]
In 2006 he starred in a sequel to Hera Pheri titled Phir Hera Pheri which was a huge success at the box office.[13]
Later that year he starred alongside Salman Khan in the romantic musical film Jaan-E-Mann which did not do as well as expected at the box office.[14] Though the film under-performed, his role as a shy, lovable nerd was praised.[15] He ended the year with Bhagam Bhag which was a success.[16]
His first release of 2007, Namastey London was critically and commercially successful in India and overseas.[17] The film is currently the second highest grossing film of 2007.[18]
Kumar is also an active stage performer. He led the Heat 2006 world tour which also starred Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley
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