Photos

List of awards and nominations received by Akshay Kumar

IIFA Awards

    * 2000 - Nominated, IIFA Best Actor Award for Dhadkan
    * 2002 - Winner, IIFA Best Villain Award for Ajnabee
    * 2005 - Winner, IIFA Best Comedian Award for Mujhse Shaadi Karogi
    * 2006 - Nominated, IIFA Best Comedian Award for Garam Masala
    * 2008 - Nominated, IIFA Best Actor Award for Bhool Bhulaiyaa [3]
    * 2008 - Winner, IIFA Special Award from the host country, Thailand [4]
    * 2009 - Nominated, IIFA Star of the Decade - Male

Zee Cine Awards

    * 2005 - Nominated, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for Mujhse Shaadi Karogi
    * 2005 - Nominated, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Male for Mujhse Shaadi Karogi
    * 2006 - Nominated, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor - Male for Waqt: The Race Against Time
    * 2008 - Nominated, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor - Male for Namastey London

Star Screen Awards

    * 2005 - Nominated, Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actor for Mujhse Shaadi Karogi
    * 2005 - Nominated, Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1
    * 2006 - Winner, Star Screen Award Best Comedian for Garam Masala (He requested that his name be removed from the nominee list, which was done.)
    * 2008 - Nominated, Star Screen Award Best Actor for Singh Is Kinng
    * 2008 - Winner Best Popular Actor Award for Singh Is Kinng (He refused to accept this award because he felt another actor, Aamir Khan was more deserving).

Stardust Awards

    * 2005 - Nominated, Best Actor in a Comic Role for Mujhse Shaadi Karogi
    * 2006 - Winner, Actor of The Year Award for Garam Masala
    * 2006 - Nominated, Stardust Star of the Year Award - Male for Waqt: The Race Against Time
    * 2008 - Winner, Stardust Star of the Year Award - Male for Heyy Babyy and Namastey London
    * 2009 - Nominated, Stardust Star of the Year Award - Male for Singh Is Kinng
    * 2009 - Winner, Stardust Readers Choice Best Film Award for Singh Is Kinng shared with Vipul Amrutlal Shah
    * 2010 - Winner, Best Actor - Popular Award - Male for Blue
    * 2010 - Winner, Best Actor - Searchlight Award - Male for 8 x 10 Tasveer
    * 2010 - Nominated, Best Actor In A Comedy Role for De Dana Dan

Global Indian Film Awards

    * 2005 - Winner, GIFA Best Supporting Actor - Mujhse Shaadi Karogi

Bollywood Movie Awards

    * 2001 - Winner Bollywood Movie Award - Best Supporting Actor, Hera Pheri
    * 2003 - Winner Bollywood Movie Award - Best Supporting Actor, Awara Paagal Deewana

Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards

    * 2005 - Nominated, Best Actor in A Supporting Role for Khakee
    * 2006 - Nominated, Best Actor for Waqt: The Race Against Time

Asian Film Awards

    * 2009 - Nominated, Best Actor for Singh Is Kinng

Other awards

    * 2002 - Best Actor in a Villainous role for Ajnabee by the Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Awards
    * 2003 - Celebrity Style Male at the Bollywood Fashion Awards
    * 2006 - Bollywood People's Choice Awards: Best Comic Performance Garam Masala.
    * 2006 - Best Action Actor at AXN Action Awards
    * 2008 - "NDTV Imagine Best Entertainer of the Year 2007" by the Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards (FTPGI)
    * 2009 - "Star's Sabsey Favourite Actor of the year"
    * 2010 - "Star's Sabsey Favourite Actor of the year"

Honours and recognitions

    * 2004 - Rajiv Gandhi Award for his Outstanding achievement in Bollywood.
    * 2008 - Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada for his outstanding work in the film industry and contribution to social work.
    * 2008 - Named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People (India) magazine.
    * 2009 - Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India.
    * 2009 - He was among the 10 recipients of the IIFA-FICCI Frames Awards for the "Most Powerful Entertainers of the Decade".
    * 2009 - He was awarded the highest Japanese honour of "Katana" and a sixth degree Black Belt in Kuyukai Gojuryu Karate.
    * 2009 - He is one among the 15 international celebrities who have been invited for the Olympics torchbearer rally to Canada.

Movies

1990s

Kumar made his Bollywood acting debut with the 1991 film Saugandh, which was followed by the 1992 thriller film Khiladi. In 1994, his action films Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Mohra which were among the highest grossing films of the year. Later that year, Yash Chopra signed him for the romantic film Yeh Dillagi which was also a success. He received appreciation for his performance in this film, where he played a romantic role which was different compared to his action roles. He would consequently receive his first nominations for Best Actor award at the Filmfare and Star Screen ceremonies. During the same year, Kumar also had success with films like Suhaag and the low budget action film Elaan. All these achievements, promoted Kumar as one of the most successful actors of that year.

In 1995, along with his share of unsuccessful movies, he starred in the third film in his Khiladi series Sabse Bada Khiladi, which was a hit. He proved to have success with the Khiladi series, as in the next year he starred in the fourth successful film with Khiladi in the title, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi opposite Rekha and Raveena Tandon. The film became one of the highest grossing films of the year.

In 1997, Kumar was seen in a supporting role 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. Unlike his previous films with Khiladi in the title, the film failed commercially. In the same way as this film, his next Khiladi releases in the following years went on to fail at the box office. In 1999, Kumar received critical acclaim for his roles in the films Sangharsh and Jaanwar. Whilst the former did not make a profit at the box office, the latter turned out to be a success.

2000s

In 2000 he starred in the comedy Hera Pheri (2000) which was a commercial success. He also starred in the romantic film Dhadkan later that same year which performed moderately at the box office. In 2001, Kumar played a negative role in the film Ajnabee. The film won him much acclaim as well as his first Filmfare Award for Best Villain. Kumar played a role as role as a blind man in Aankhen.

Following Hera Pheri, Kumar starred in a number of comedy films, including Awara Paagal Deewana (2002) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004). and Garam Masala (2005). The films succeeded at the box office and his performance in the latter earned him his second Filmfare Award, for Best Comedian. Apart from his action, comedy and romantic roles, Kumar displayed a flair for dramatic roles in films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001), Aankhen (2002), Bewafaa (2005) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005).

In 2006 he starred in a sequel to Hera Pheri titled Phir Hera Pheri. As was the former, the sequel became a huge success at the box office. Later that year he starred alongside Salman Khan in the romantic musical Jaan-E-Mann. The film was a well anticipated release, and despite receiving positive reviews from critics, did not do as well as expected at the box office. Though the film under-performed, his role as a shy, lovable nerd was praised. He ended the year with the comedy Bhagam Bhag, which was a success. In that same year, he led the Heat 2006 world tour along with fellow stars Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.

2007 proved to be Kumar's most successful year during his career in the industry, and as described by box office analysts, "probably the best ever recorded by an actor, with four outright hits and no flops." His first release, Namastey London, was critically and commercially successful, and his performance earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Filmfare. Critic Taran Adarsh wrote of his performance in the film, "he's sure to win the hearts of millions of moviegoers with a terrific portrayal in this film." His next two releases, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa, were box office successes as well. Kumar's last release of the year, Welcome, did extremely well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster status and simultaneously becoming his fifth successive hit. All of Kumar's films which released that year did well in the overseas market as well.

Kumar's first film of 2008, Tashan, marked his comeback to the Yash Raj Films banner after 11 years. Although much anticipated by the public, the film was a critical and commercial failure. His second film, Singh Is Kinng was a huge success at the box office and broke the first-week worldwide record of Om Shanti Om, the previous highest figure. His next film was the animated film Jumbo. The year also saw Kumar making his small screen debut as the host of the successful show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. He later returned to host the show's second season in 2009.

In 2009, Kumar featured opposite Deepika Padukone in the Warner Bros.-Rohan Sippy production Chandni Chowk to China. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the film was a critical and commercial failure at the box office. Kumar's next release was 8 x 10 Tasveer. Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, the film was a critical and commercial failure. His next release was Kambakkht Ishq. Kumar's film Blue was released on 16 October 2009. Blue collected about Rs. 42 crores at the box-office. His release in 2009 was Priyadarshan's De Dana Dan.

He then appeared in the 2010 comedy, House Full, directed by Sajid Khan which garnered the second-highest opening weekend collection of all time. Kumar's next release was Khatta Meetha, directed by Priyadarshan. Kumar also appears on Masterchef India on Starplus as one of the hosts.

Career

During the 1990s, Kumar primarily acted in action films such as Khiladi (1992), Mohra (1994), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995) and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), and got particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi Series". He performed in romantic films like Yeh Dillagi (1994) and Dhadkan (2000) as well as dramatic films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001). His comic performances in films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) met with acclaim. His success further rose in 2007, when he starred in four consecutive commercial hits. In 2008, the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law on Kumar in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He has thus established himself as one of the leading actors in Hindi cinema. In 2007, Kumar founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company

Early life

Akshay Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab to a Punjabi family. His father was a government employee. From a very young age, he was recognised as a performer, particularly as a dancer. Kumar was raised in Delhi's Chandni Chowk neighbourhood before moving to Mumbai. In Mumbai, he lived in Koliwada, which was another Punjabi dominated area. He studied at Don Bosco School and then Guru Nanak Khalsa College (King's Circle), where he participated in sports with Janpal Singh.

He studied martial arts in Bangkok and worked as a chef. He then came back to Mumbai, where he started teaching martial arts. One of his students happened to be a photographer and recommended him to do modelling. The student gave him a modelling assignment for a small company. For his two hours posing in front of the camera, Kumar got Rs. 5,000, compared to his previous monthly salary of Rs. 4,000. That was one of the main reasons why he chose to be a model. After a couple of months of modelling, Kumar was offered a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia

Akshay Kumar was born as Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia on the 9 September 1967 in Amritsar to a middle class Punjabi household. His father was a government worker. He grew up in Delhi and later in Mumbai’s Koliwada area. He did his schooling at the Don Bosco School and his college years were spent in Khalsa College, where he showed an inclination for sports.

He studied martial arts in Bangkok while working as a chef. He came back to Delhi to teach martial arts when one of his students suggested he try his hand at modeling, which led to an offer to act in Deedar as the lead actor.

Akshay was linked with several of his co-stars like Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty, Pooja Batra and even Rekha. He is currently married to actress turned entrepreneur Twinkle Khanna and they have a son Araav.