Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49
A pictorial look at Akshay Kumar's journey in Bollywood
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Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49Akshay Kumar, action and comic star, is 49 today. One of Bollywood's most bankable heroes, Akshay's career graph has seen many a dip and spike in the 24 years he has been working. As he turns a year older, we celebrate his life and journey. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49Akshay Kumar, real name Hari Om Bhatia, was born on September 9, 1967 in Amritsar to an army officer and his wife. The family then moved to Delhi, living in Chandni Chowk, where Akshay studied at Don Bosco School and Khalsa College before moving to Mumbai. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49After moving back to Mumbai, Akshay earned a living teaching martial arts and landed his first modelling assignment with the help of one of his students who happened to be a photographer. As modelling offers trickled in, Akshay also made the rounds of film studios with his portfolio. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49His persistence paid off and Akshay was cast as the lead in Deedar (1992) opposite actress Karisma Kapoor. However, the movie was only released in 1992, making 1991's Saugandh, opposite Raakhee and Shanti Priya, his screen debut. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49Akshay's first big break came in the form of the movie Khiladi (1992), the first of a series of movies to capitalise on the Khiladi tag which would become Akshay's screen moniker.
This was followed by five films which performed poorly at the box-office. These were Ashaant (1993), Dil Ki Baazi (1993), Kayda Kanoon (1993), Waqt Hamara Hai (1993) and Sainik (1993). However, his performance in Yeh Dillagi (1994) fetched Akshay his first Filmfare and Star Screen Best Actor nominations. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49The next in the Khiladi series, Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), created frenzy. With Saif Ali Khan as the anari and Akshay as the khiladi cop, the movie left everyone looking forward to the next movie. With successful films like Suhaag (1994) and Elaan (1994) in the same year, Akshay was well on the way to carving a niche for himself in the industry. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49After Maidan-E-Jung (1995) came the third movie in the Khiladi series - Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995) which was a huge hit. Opposite Mamta Kulkarni, he again played the role of a cop.
After Tu Chor Main Sipahi (1996), the fourth Khiladi movie came out. Called Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), the film had him sharing screen space with Rekha, while romancing Raveena Tandon and duelling WWF champ Undertaker.
This proved to be a daunting task for the fit hero when he nearly broke his neck and back. He was treated extensively in the US. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49In 1997, he appeared as a rich brat in Aflatoon and also starred in the fifth Khiladi venture - Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi, which bombed at the box-office. So did the other films in the Khiladi series - International Khiladi (1999) and Khiladi 420 (2000). -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49However, he had a huge hit in the form of Yash Chopra's Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), playing a supporting role opposite actors Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor. Akshay's performance fetched him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also received praise for Sangharsh (1999) and Jaanwar (1999). -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49His career resurrected from the Khiladi doldrums when Akshay played a villain in 2001's Ajnabee opposite Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Bobby Deol, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain. In Aankhen (2002) he played a blind man. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49The success of Hera Pheri led to Akshay being cast in a string of comedies including Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and Garam Masala (2005), which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49The success of Hera Pheri led to Akshay being cast in a string of comedies including Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and Garam Masala (2005), which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49Meanwhile, he also played dramatic roles in Khakee (2004), Police Force (2004) and Aan: Men At Work (2004). In Aitraaz (2004), opposite Priyanka Chopra, he played a loyal husband trying to ward off the advances of a seductress. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49In 2007, a new star pairing was created with Namastey London in which Akshay starred opposite Katrina Kaif, playing a small-town Punjabi munda to her spoilt London girl. Later that year released Welcome, also a hit. Akshay and Katrina were now being compared with the ultimate hit Jodi of Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49Heyy Babyy (2007) earned Akshay praise for playing the typical urban man scared of commitment. He was also seen in the psychological thriller comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) with Vidya Balan. This was a remake of the 1993 Malayalam film, Manichitrathazhu. The film was declared a superhit. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49The next year, Akshay and Katrina teamed up again for the hit Singh Is Kinng (2008). Akshay was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award and Asian Film Award for Best Actor.
He also lent his voice for animated film Jumbo. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49In 2011, the actor appeared in the family drama Patiala House which also featured Rishi Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Dimple Kapadia in lead roles. Thank You saw Akshay playing a detective.
Desi Boyz released the same year and was also a comedy film which did average business at the box office. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@492012 was a bumper year for Akshay. He had superhits in Housefull 2 and Prabhu Deva's Rowdy Rathore (2012) opposite Sonakshi Sinha. Despite a disastrous Joker, co-starring Sonakshi again, Akshay acquitted himself well with OMG - Oh My God! and Khiladi 786, the eighth film in the Khiladi series. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49This year, Akshay appeared in three film - all three hit. The year started on a patriotic note with Airlift, based on the evacuation of Indians from a war-struck Kuwait during the invasion by Saddam Hussein. Next was Houseful 3, which was panned by critics but still managed to collect Rs 100 crores. Lastly he was seen in Rustom, based on real life incident of Naval Officer KM Nanavati and businessman Prem Ahuja.
Apart from this, Akshay also had cameos in Dishoom and Akira. -
Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Jolly@49Akshay Kumar also made it to the Forbes list of Highest Paid Actors in which he ranked 10. He was placed above actors Salman Khan (rank #14) and Amitabh Bachchan (rank #18) and was just one space below Shah Rukh Khan. Akshay tied with Brad Pitt
