Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia on 9 September 1967) is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has been nominated for Filmfare Awards several times, winning it two times. He has appeared in over 125 films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series" as well as other action films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Mohra (1994), Elaan (1994), Suhaag (1994), Sapoot (1996), Angaaray (1998), Keemat – They Are Back (1998) and Sangharsh (1999).

Later he also gained fame for his drama, romance and comic roles. He started becoming known for his performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dhadkan (2000), Andaaz (2003) and Namastey London (2007), as well as drama films such as Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) and Patiala House (2011). His comic performances in comedy films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Singh Is Kinng (2008) met with acclaim. His success had soared in 2007, when he starred in four consecutive commercial hits. Kumar hit a rough patch since 2009 to 2011 but came back with two successes, Housefull 2 (2012) and Rowdy Rathore (2012) with both of them grossing over 1 billion (US$16 million). His other films like OMG (2012) and Special 26 (2013) were highly successful critically and commercially. In February 2013, many media outlets reported that the net box-office collection of Kumar's films had crossed 20 billion (US$320 million) and he was the first and the only Bollywood actor to do so. Having done so, he has established himself as a leading contemporary actor of Hindi cinema.

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". In 2008, he hosted the show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. In 2009, Kumar founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company.

In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law on Kumar in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema. The following year he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. In 2011 The Asian Awards honoured Kumar for his outstanding achievement in Cinema. In 2012 he founded another production company called Grazing Goats Productions.

In 2014, Kumar launched TV realty show Dare 2 Dance. He also owns the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League.

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