Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967),[5] known professionally as Akshay Kumar (pronounced [əkˈʂeː kʊˈmaːr]), is an India-born naturalised Canadian[1][2][3] actor, producer, martial artist and television personality who works in Bollywood, the commercial Hindi language film industry based chiefly in Mumbai, India. Over 29 years, Kumar has appeared in over 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards. Kumar is one of the most successful prolific actors of Hindi cinema.[6][7] Having starred in 113 films, 52 of which were commercially successful, he was the first Bollywood actor whose films' domestic net lifetime collections crossed ₹20 billion (US$280 million) by 2013, and ₹30 billion (US$420 million) by 2016.[8][9][10]

Kumar began his career in 1991 with Saugandh, but his first mainstream success came a year later with the action thriller Khiladi. The film established him as an action star in the 1990s and was the first of several films starring Kumar which would later become commonly known as the Khiladi film series, in addition to a string of other action films. 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), as well as drama films such as Waqt (2005) and Patiala House (2011). His comic performances in films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Singh Is Kinng (2008) met with acclaim.

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 in India; it was consistent until a short period of professional setbacks between 2009 and 2011, after which he reinforced his status with several films, including Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Holiday (2014). Moreover, around this time the critical response to several of his films improved; after favourable reviews came his way for his work in Special 26 (2013), Baby and Airlift (2016), he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the crime thriller Rustom (2016). He earned further notice for the social films Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) and Pad Man (2018) and the war film Kesari (2019).

Apart from acting, Kumar has worked as a stunt actor; he has often performed many dangerous stunts in his films, which has earned him the sobriquet "Indian Jackie Chan".[11][12] In 2008, he hosted the show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi. In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an honorary doctorate on Kumar. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri the fourth-highest civil honour by the Government of India. In 2009, he founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company[13] and Grazing Goat Pictures production company in 2012. In 2014, Kumar launched the TV reality show Dare 2 Dance. He also owns the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League. As of 2015[14] and 2019, Kumar was on the Forbes list of highest paid entertainers in the world, ranking 52nd with earnings of $48.5 million.[15] and the only Bollywood actor on the list.[16] In 2020, he was ranked as the highest paid Bollywood actor by Forbes.[17]

Early life and education

Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India,[5] to Hari Om Bhatia and Aruna Bhatia in a Punjabi family.[18][19] His father was an army officer.[20] 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.[21] Soon, his sister was born and the family lived in Koliwada, a Punjabi dominated area of Central Bombay.[18]

He received his school education from Don Bosco High School, Matunga,[22] 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.[18][23] Kumar also has a sister, Alka Bhatia.[24] When Kumar was a teenager, his father asked him what he aspired to be. Kumar expressed his desire to become an actor.[25]

Career

1991–99

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.[34] The following year he starred in Abbas Mustan-directed suspense thriller, Khiladi, widely considered his breakthrough role.[35][36] 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, strong screen presence, and commending him for being "perfectly at ease".[37] His next release was the Raj Sippy-directed detective film Mr. Bond, based on James Bond.[38] His last release of 1992 was Deedar. It failed to perform well at the box office.[39]

In 1993, he acted in the Keshu Ramsay-directed bilingual film Ashaant alongside Dr. Vishnuvardhan and Ashwini Bhave. All of his films released during 1993, including Dil Ki Baazi, Kayda Kanoon, Waqt Hamara Hai and Sainik did not perform well commercially.[40] In 1994, he appeared in 11 feature films.[41] He played a police inspector in two films: Sameer Malkan's Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Rajiv Rai's Mohra, both among the highest-grossing films of the year.[42] Further success came later that year when he starred in Yash Chopra-produced romance Yeh Dillagi, opposite Kajol. One of the year's biggest mainstream successes, both the film and his performance were received well by critics, with The Indian Express describing him as "always dependable" and singling out his performance.[43] His work in the film earned him his first nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards[44] and Star Screen award.[40] During the same year, Kumar also had success with films like Suhaag and the low-budget action film Elaan. All these achievements established Kumar as one of the most successful actors of the year, according to Box Office India.[45]

2000–06

In 2000, Kumar starred in the Priyadarshan-directed comedy Hera Pheri alongside Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty. The film which was a remake of Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking,[58] became a commercial success[59] and proved to be a turning point in Kumar's career.[60] Hindustan Times noted the film's "intense portrayal of the surreality of the human condition".[61] He also starred in the Dharmesh Darshan-directed romantic drama Dhadkan later that same year. The film performed moderately at the box office[59] but Kumar was praised for his acting.[62][63] Rediff.com's review stated that he had proved that he is "director's actor" and that "he has worked hard on his role is apparent."[64] 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.[65] His character in the film had two names and his role received mixed reviews.[66] 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."[67] Padmaraj Nair of Screen, however, believed it was "the best performance of his career".[68]

His first release in 2001 was Suneel Darshan-directed drama Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love. Kumar was praised for his performance in the film.[69] Next, he played a negative role in the Abbas Mustan-directed film Ajnabee.[70][71] While reviewing the film for Rediff.com, Sarita Tanwar termed Kumar the "surprise package" of the film. She added that he was "in total control as the bad guy."[72] The film won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Villain and IIFA award 2002 for Performance in a Negative Role.[19][73][74]