Bollywood is a star-riddled industry, and it’s not very often that you have someone reach the heights of success without having a “godfather” or support system in the industry. In the early 90’s a struggling actor called Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia entered the industry, and like millions of other newcomers hoping to strike it lucky in the starry-eyed world of Bollywood Rajiv too was determined to carve a name for himself, but getting noticed was harder than he would’ve imagined as Rajiv had no contacts in the industry. With a little bit of luck, his can-do attitude, charismatic personality and ability to prove himself across a variety of genre’s, 16 years later Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia is one of the industry’s most bankable actors in the industry today, and one whose position has only got stronger and stronger with time. Undeniably at one of the highest peaks in his career, let’s take an insight in to the man’s career. The man in question? None other than Akshay Kumar later re-christened by his “founder” Pramod Chakraborthy who felt Akshay Kumar is much more suited to him in the filmi world.

Akshay was settied in Delhi for some time before moving to the city of dreams- Mumbai. He lived in Koliwada which was a Punjabi dominated area. And then moved to Amritsar. He studied at Don Basco school and then Khalsa College, where he took an interest in sports and martial arts. He studied martial arts in Bangkok and worked as a Chef there too. His acting career took off when producer Pramod Chakravarthy, saw his portfolio and offered him the lead in his forthcoming film DEEDAR(1991) however this is only the start of Akshay Kumar’s struggle to carve himself a name amongst the biggest names in Bollywood. On a personal front, Akshay in the earlier stage of his career was linked to countless actresses which gave his “khiladi” title more meanings than one. The endless list includes Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty, Pooja Batra, Karishma Kapoor, until he married Twinkle Khanna. Even after his marriage, rumors are constantly adrift of his “chemistry” with Priyanka though Akshay has confirmed many times this is all “media made”. He also has a 5-year old son named Araav.

Although the actor’s first signed film was DEEDAR, his first official release was Raj Sippy’s action film SAUGANDH, which sank without a trace, though Akshay was noticed by movie-goers and the media alike. His second release DANCER (1991) too sank without a trace at the box-office. Chakraborthy’s DEEDAR was going to take time before it fully took off as this was the director’s first movie in 6 years. In the mean time Akshay had a free-hand to sign other movies too. In 1992 Akshay had another Raj Sippy film titled MR. BOND (1992) where he played a “desi” bond of sorts, and again this sank without a trace though Akshay’s confidence in action scenes was noticed. His most significant and vital release was the Abbas-Mustaan directed suspense-thriller KHILADI (1992), which turned out to be a major box-office grosser with Akshay getting a fair amount of accolades. The movie was inspired by the 1975 thriller KHEL KHEL MEIN with Akshay in the leading role. This is also remains quiet a significant film in Akshay’s career as the movie gave him the “khiladi” title which has a longstanding association with him throughout his career as Akshay built an entire “series” (though not connected as such) around the “khiladi” title with himself in the title role in each one. KHILADI was then followed by Pramod Chakraborthy’s which finally released and this too proved to be a success at the box-office giving Akshay something to smile about. However the smile was short-lived as from here began Akshay’s struggle to deliver consistently at the box-office and his lack of background knowledge about the industry was evident here as Akshay went on to make some bad bad choices.

1993 saw the release of ASHAANTI, DIL KI BAAZI, KAYDA KANOON, SAINIK and WAQT HAMARA HAI of which only WAQT HAMARA HAI was a success at the box-office as well as showing a natural flair of chemistry between his co-star and contemporary at the time, Suniel Shetty. ASHAANTI deserves a mention as the movie is directed by a certain Keshu Ramsay who latter went on to become a close friend of Akshay’s to the point where Akshay even did a guest appearance for him in the recent FAMILY-something which Akshay rarely does.

In 1994 Akshay saw the release of 12 films, some which made a huge impact on his career, while the others disappeared without a trace. Elaan, YEH DILLAGI, JAI-KISHAN, MOHRA, MAIN KHILADI TU ANARI and SUHAAG all were box-office successes in carrying degrees. The three bigger hits were MOHRA, YEH DILLAGI and MAIN KHILADI TU ANARI all of which can be looked on as significant films even after all these years. MOHRA saw Akshay Kumar slip in to the role of an honest cop with supreme ease, this is also the first film which established his superb rapport with co-star Paresh Rawal (more on that later) as well as showing yet again that his “jodi” with Suniel Shetty was a hit. Though surprisingly, most of the credit for MOHRA went to Suniel Shetty and more-so Nasseruddin Shah with Akshay being side-lined despite being the “hero” of the film. The super-hit TU CHEEZ BADI HAI MAST MAST became a rage all over. YEH DILLAGI saw Akshay enter the Yashraj camp for the first time. The movie was a modern day take on SABRINA with Akshay in the role of the elder, sensible brother. His co-star Saif Ali Khan was the brattish younger brother and again this is the first movie to cast the Akki-Saif “jodi” which went on to deliver numerous box-office hits. Following that was the masala yarn MAIN KHILADI TU ANARI. Modelled along the lines of an old-school Amitabh-Shahsi film, Akshay again donned the khakee vardi to play the role of the “khiladi” while Saif Ali Khan went on to play the role of the “anari”. SUHAAG, though primarily a Ajay Devgan film, saw Akshay prove his mettle in comedy and hitting all the right notes, nostalgic given that comedy at this point in Akshay’s career is one of his biggest fortes.

1995 saw two flops with PAANDAV and Elaan-E-JUNG, however his third film in the khiladi series-SABSE BADA KHILADI became a huge hit. A masala fare with ample scope for Akshay to do action, comedy and romance the movie cemented his position as an “all rounder” and made way for more producers trying to cash in on the “khiladi” series.

On paper, 1996 looked like a “surefire” year; however it turned in to a disappointment. TU CHOR MAIN SIPAHI saw him re-team with his Elaan director Guddu Dhanoa, as well as co-starring Akshay Kumar; however the movie tanked at the box-office. His next film was KHILADIYON KA KHILADI and became a huge hit. The movie saw Akshay romance Raveena Tandon as well as Rekha (who can forget the mud “fight”). In the climax of the film Akshay also took on WWF Wrestlers and put his back out on the process. SAPOOT was a Watered down version of THE GODFATHER with Akshay and Suniel teaming up again, and despite being well made with some superb music the movie failed to click.

1997 can be called one of the darkest phases in Akshay’s career. I still remember headlines like “Goodbye Akshay, it was good while it lasted” and what not come out in the media. Some bad choices and stale films saw Akshay deliver back to back disasters starting with Mehul Kumar’s LAHU KE DO RANG, Dayal Nihlani’s INSAAF-THE FINAL JUSTICE(wicked film, underrated and worth a watch), DAAVA, and TARAZU. However things took a turn for the better, a certain David Dhawan who was known for churning out comedy blockbusters with a certain Govinda had seen Akshay’s work in MOHRA and SUHAAG and had made a quick comedy film with him titled MR AND MRS KHILADI and the movie went on to become a surprise success. Despite the movie releasing on the same day as David Dhawan’s other big comedy bonanza DEEWANA MASTANA, MR AND MRS KHILADI went on to make money and more importantly Akshays comic timing was noticed here. This also marks Akshay’s entry in to Dhawan’s brand of DD+ masala films. His next release was Yash Chopra’s musical bonanza DIL TO PAAGAL HAI with Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karishma Kapoor. The movie featured Akshay in a very small special appearance though Akshay wasn’t aware of this as he was under the impression he had a full-fledged role(nothing new for Yashraj). The film released and went on to become a blockbuster, however Akshay wasn’t happy with the raw deal he had got and made a move which in a industry like this is as good as suicide---he decided to stop working with Yashraj, and for that matter doing any form of “side” roles to the extent he recently rejected the role of Jasjit in Farhan Akhtars DON(again with SRK), the role eventually went to Arjun.

1998 was a weak year. KEEMAT was a movie that should’ve been a blockbuster. Re-uniting with MAIN KHILADI TU ANARI director Sameer Malkan as well as co-star Saif Ali Khan the promos and advertising made the news loud and clear---THEY ARE BACK. However despite opening big, the poor man’s SHOLAY was a below the mark. ANGAARAY directed by Mahesh Bhatt was a well-made movie which sadly sank without trace, and lastly there was BAROOD with his mentor Pramod Chakraborthy which again tanked badly.

1999 started out bad as 2 prestigious and one long-delayed film all failed. AARZOO was a “biggie” in every sense, from the director of SAAJAN came this love triangle with Saif Ali Khan and Madhuri as his co-stars however the film just offered nothing new. INTERNATIONAL KHILADI was a “big” movie, and in typical “khiladi” mould, however there was something lacking in this “khiladi” film compared to other films. This was no doubt a darker version of the “khiladi” series with Akshay portraying a negative role a large part of the film. The movie wasn’t up to mark, though Akshay did meet his future wife, daughter of Super-star Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapidia-Twinkle Khanna on this film. His next release ZULMI again had him paired with Twinkle, bit this stale film didn’t manage to muster much of an opening even.

However that same year, something surprising happened. Akshay who was normally known for his “all round masala” delivered a performance that made critics stand up and take notice. The film in question was Tanuja Chandra’s SANGHARSH. The movie was a Watered down version of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (and a poor one in comparison) with Akshay in the Lecter role of The Professor. A restrained performance which was supporting Preity Zinta, Akshay was fabulous here, though the movie failed to become a hit at the box-office. His next was JAANWAR with director Suneel Darshan. An emotional based action film which was written with Sunny Deol in mind, the movie went on to become a hit, and a Super-Hit in the Northern and Rural areas proving again that Akshay was the fave among the masses.

From this point on, one saw the rise of a new Akshay Kumar, one who was picky with the films he did, working with only quality film-makers. And the new millennium saw Akshay climb another rung in the ladder of success as far as critical and box-office acclaim goes.

His first release of Y2K will remain as a landmark film in Akshay’s career-directed by Priyadarshan HERA PHERI went on to become a surprise hit and gave a much needed boost to the careers of Akshay and Suniel Shetty though the movie clearly belonged to Paresh Rawal with his outstanding Baburao Apte act. However one thing was for sure, Akshays comic timing had certainly improved as well and in a number of scenes he managed to hold his own in the film.

By now Akshay had become a favorite with the Dharshan bros, and his next release was Dharmesh Dharshan’s musical DHADKAN. A long-delayed venture which saw Akshay in a restrained and mature role compared to Suniel Shetty’s dark and loud obsessed lover. Though Suniel evidently stole the show here, Akshay in the role of a sober husband did surprise many with a understated performance. The final of the “khiladi” series to date was KHILADI 420, which sank without a trace despite good opening in many places. Like INTERNATIONAL KHILADI, this too featured Akshay in a negative role for a large part of the film.

2001 was a notable year as Akshay Kumar got to work with his life-long idol Amitabh Bachchan in Suneel Darshans EK RISHTAA-THE BOND OF LOVE. The movie itself was nothing special, though the notable thing was Akshay’s chemistry and confidence in the scenes he had with Amitabh. Playing his son, Akshay sprung a surprise in an emotional role and played his part extremely well. His chemistry with Amitabh stuck many film-makers who quickly signed-on this jodi. His second release re-teamed with his KHILADI directors Abbas-Mustaan and once again they didn’t let him down. In a rather massy role of a conniving, and deliciously evil villain Akshay again sprung a surprise, as well as picking up the Filmfare trophy for BEST VILLAIN. His pairing with debutant Bipasha Basu went down well, and their song TU SIRF MERA MEHBOOB became a rage.

2002 was a mixed year, though again his confidence and more-so effort that he was making in his performances was becoming more and more evident.

HAAN MAINE BHI PYAAR KIYA was a bad start, a snooze-fest with DHADKAN director Dharmesh Dharshan the movie failed to click at the box-office. Abhishek Bachchan and Karishma Kapoor (who were an item at the time) co-starred. AANKHEN remains a significant movie in Akshay’s career. Firstly the movie re-teamed him with Amitabh Bachchan, secondly it had his favorite co-star Paresh Rawal and lastly this is the first movie Akshay starred with Vipul Shah. Based on a stage play about 3 blind men robbing a bank then movie is one of the finest thrillers to come out of Bollywood to recent memory and stuck gold at the box-office. Akshay’s performance was tremendous though the show here clearly belonged to Amitabh and Paresh. With HERA PHERI the comic combination of Akshay-Paresh-Suniel (first seen in MOHRA) had become noticed by many film-makers including producer Firoz Nadiadwala who managed to re-create the magic with AWAARA PAAGAL DEEWANA and stuck gold at the box-office. The combo of action and comedy proved to be an entertaining ride. His last release was the star-studded affair JAANI DUSHMAN:EK ANOKHEE KAHANI, and yes, again Akshay Kumar was the best thing about the movie with his able performance as a Nastik standout out tall amongst the rest of the stars.

2003 got off to a slow start with Suneel Darshan’s delayed TALAASH failing to get an opening even, however Akshay and Suneel both delivered a whopping hit with ANDAAZ(directed by Raj Kanwar). The movie also introduced two gorgeous ladies-Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta to the industry.

2004 saw as many as 8 films with Akshay Kumar in them, though unfortunately a lot of these films were delayed ventures which finally saw the light of day. The first was Raj Kumar Santoshi’s KHAKEE-a multi-starrer which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Ashwariya Rai and Tusshar Kapoor. Despite the Big B in a powerful, author backed role written as a showcase for him, Akshay managed to hold his own, and bring the house down a comic role which was written for Paresh Rawal. Inspector Shekhar Verma remains a landmark in Akshay’s career as this is by far his best performance to date. And it wasn’t only the comedy, even in the heavy-duty dramatic and emotional scenes Akshay hit the all the right notes and I still remember the tears people had in their eyes when he died. Immortal!

POLICE FORCE: AN INSIDE STORY was a long-delayed venture which washed out within a week. AAN-MEN AT WORK on paper sounded like it had all the trappings of a “blockbuster” with Firoz Nadiadwala, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Suniel Shetty all coming together, however an onslaught of cop films and the muddled treatment messed AAN up at the box-office. A long-delayed venture with Sridevi MERI BIWI KA JAWAAB NAHIN also finally hit the marquee without much ado. Soon after Akshay struck back with a biggie-producer Sajid Nadiadwala who’s usually known for his masala blockbusters with Salman, signed both Salman and Akshay in opposing roles in a David Dhawan laugh-riot MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI. Inspired by the Hollywood Hit ANGER MANAGEMENT the movie emerged one of the biggest grosser of the year. Furthermore to Akki’s credit, his chemistry with both Salman and Priyanka was sizzling, while a large majority of movie-goers (ncluding myself) feel this was clearly Akshay’s show.

Again a long-delayed HATYA-THE MURDER released and sank within a week. and soon after another hit followed with Abbas-Mustaan’s Aitraaz. Based on the Hollywood Hit DISCLOSURE the movie had Akshay with his favorite co-stars Kareena and Priyanka. Furthermore, the movie released head-to-head with Yash Chopras Veer-Zaara and still managed to become a decent hit, though the outcome would’ve been much better had the film come solo. Akshay’s last release was AB TUMHARE HAWALE WATAN SAATHIYON-an ambitious venture where Akshay only had a supporting role. Directed by Anil Sharma-the movie was no great shakes, and despite Amitabh Bachchan and Bobby Deol in the cast it was Akshay in his crowd-pleasing role that stole the show.

2005 started on a low note with Insan proving to be a flop, despite Ajay and Tusshar coming together with Akshay again after KHAKEE. A poorly made product again the best thing about the film was Akshay Kumar’s energetic, comic-filled act as Amjad Rickshawallah.

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Dharmesh Dharshans BEWAFFA followed which despite a damp opening was a disappointment on the whole except in the overseas. Akshay had told director Dharmesh Dharshan he wanted to play a role similar to Suniel in DHADKAN, and BEWAFFA was the answer. Akshay’s performance was again appreciated more than Anil Kapoor and Manoj Bajpai. Akshay Kumar then reunited with his AANKHEN director Vipul Shah and co-star Amitabh Bachchan for a family drama/tear-jerker. The movie also featured his by-now “lucky” heroine Priyanka Chopra and the movie became was a hit. A double-whammy followed as Akshay’s next hit Garam Masala turned out to be a bigger hit. With his HERA PHERI director Priyadarshan, and favorite co-star Paresh Rawal, the film was a masti-filled laugh-riot. Garam Masala became a personal favorite of mine over time, Akshay was given a free-hand in many of the scenes by director Priyan and he relished every moment by adding so much to even the smallest scenes with his spontaneity and immaculate comic timing. Priyan also went on record to say “in my mind Akshay is the biggest star currently in Hindi cinema”.

DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL on the other hand sent shock-waves. The movie was produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, directed by Vikram Bhatt and co-starred Suniel, Paresh, Shahid and many others and looked like everything an “Akshay Kumar Blockbuster” should look like, however the movie failed to become a huge hit despite being a highly entertaining movie. The films failure still is a mystery to an extent, though a number people said they thought the movie was a re-release of AWAARA PAAGAL DEEWANA given the same cast, and even the promos looked identical. DOSTI: FRIENDS FOREVER was a tear-jerker with the Darshan camp. The movie did well in parts of India and overseas too though the movie was a total waste of time, and the verdict was clear, GOODBYE DARSHANS.

The start of 2006 saw Akshay re-uniting with Keshu Ramsay, Raj Kumar Santoshi and Amitabh Bachchan for FAMILY. But surprisingly Akshay did an extended guest appearance here to launch Keshu Ramsay’s son and Akshay’s friend Aryeman Ramsay who took his bow as an actor. The movie turned out to be a compromised effort and failed at the box-office. MERE JEEVAN SAATHI was next, a long-delayed venture, and the last time Akshay Kumar-Suneel Darshan came together.

Humko Deewana Kar GayeE sounded like a “surefire” hit on paper, but sadly failed. Director Raj Kanwar(who earlier delivered with Akshay in ANDAAZ) the movie was a romantic one with Katrina Kaif as his co-star and Bipasha in a special appearance as well as Anil Kapoor. Personally I thought the movie was well-made but it didn’t click with audiences.

PHIR HERA PHERI-a sequel to HERA PHERI followed and turned out to be one of the biggest hits in Akshay’s career. Unlike the first one, Akshay had equal footage and equal laughs here and it was Suniel Shetty who was given the back-seat with Akshay/Paresh having a ball and laughing all the way to the bank.

Diwali 2006 saw Sajid Nadiadwala’s JAAN-E-MAN release. This was Akshay re-uniting with both Sajid and Salman after the success of MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI. Shirish Kunder was taking his bow as a director. The movie was well-made with a stunning musical score laced with some spectacular song picturisations as well as worthy performances from the entire cast, though despite all the hype the movie failed to live up to expectations as it went head-to-head with Shahrukh Khan’s DON. As far as acting is concerned, this round definitely belonged to Salman.

The tail end of last year saw yet another “biggie” from the Akshay-Paresh-Priyan combo. This time Govinda had joined in the fun, and Priyan had advertised the movie as “The Greatest Comedy Show Ever”, however the movie turned out to be a disappointment as far as critical acclaim went as the second half faltered badly. As far as performances go, Akshay ruled the roost and dominated the film. Despite the backlash the movie made over 40 crores which is outstanding.

2007 so far has seen one film—Namastey London. The movie re-united Akshay with his Humko Deewana Kar Gaye co-star Katrina Kaif and was directed by his AANKHEN and WAQT director Vipul Shah. Despite negative pre-release buzz and releasing dead in the middle of the World Cup, the movie went on to become one of the few solid hit’s of 2007, and also broke the jinx Akshay can’t deliver a hit in the romantic genre, though the patriotism factor here helped a great deal. The movie was a raging success in the overseas too.

And from here on one simply cannot deny that Akshay Kumar has one of the strongest line-up’s in Bollywood. His next release is the Sajid Nadiadwala produced Heyy Babyy directed by Sajid Khan and starring Akshay Kumar with Ritiesh and Fardeen. A comedy with an emotional touch about 3 men and a baby. Vidya Balan is the main heroine. The promos for the movie have already caught on, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is smashing. This one is expected to be a sure-fire hit.

Following that is Priyadarshans Bhool Bhulaiya. The movie is a remake of the Rajnikanth starrer CHANDRAMUKHI where Akshay will don Rajni’s shoes. A combination of comedy and horror this could well be one of the biggest films of Akshay’s career, and indeed has the potential to be Akshay’s most “massy” performance to date. Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Amisha Patel, and Paresh Rawal co-star.

WELCOME is next-a romantic comedy from the director of No Entry(Anees Bazmee) and produced by Firoz Nadiadwala. The movie stars Akshay back with his Namastey London co-star Katrina Kaif as well as Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Mallika Sherawat and Feroz Khan.

TASHAN: How big a star Akshay is now can be signified by the mere fact Yashraj approached Akshay Kumar to star in what can only be called one of their biggest films to date. This is undeniably the BIGGEST film Yashraj have on hand at the moment, and the hype surrounding the movie is extraordinary. Direced by Victor Acharya who is taking is bow as a director after scripting the DHOOM series, the movie stars Akshay Kumar with Saif Ali Khan after a hiatus. One of the most successful “jodi” of the 90’s returns with TASHAN, and to add icing on the cake, Anil Kapoor plays the main villain. Not much is known about the movie except that it’s an action film. Akshay/Saif are rumored to play cops while Anil is rumored to play the villain. Half urban, half rural and all action, all of the actors in the movie have undergone an entire makeover as far as looks is concerned which is being kept well under wraps. This is BIG.

But that’s NOT all, Shaad Ali Sehgal’s next after Jhoom Barabar Jhoom titled TEVAR also stars Akshay Kumar. Not much is known about this film, though if Yashraj are backing the film as rumors have said, then this makes it Akshays SECOND film with Yashraj after TASHAN. Vipul Shah has signed him for his fourth venture titled SINGH THE KING, Rohan Sippy has signed him for his next action venture which will allow Akshay to indulge in some kung-fu titled MADE IN CHINA directed by Nikhil Advani and lastly (and surprisingly) Akshay also has Nagesh Kukunoor’s TASVEER. Now this is a fairytale struggle in my opinion folks, and whether one likes Akshay Kumar or not, one cannot help admiring the man’s success story. Truly Akshay, you’re King Kumar!

Aap Ka Fan,

Akshay Shah