Akshay Kumar (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), is an Indian origin actor, producer, martial artist, stuntman and television personality, who works in Bollywood films, and currently holds Canadian citizenship. In a career spanning more than twenty five years, Kumar has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films and has won several awards including the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Rustom and two Filmfare Awards.
Box Office India has listed Kumar as one of the most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. He became the first Bollywood actor whose movies have crossed respectively the Rs 2000 crore (₹20 billion (US$310 million) in 2013
and the Rs 3000 crore (₹30 billion (US$460 million)) in 2016 in their domestic net lifetime collection. Having done so, he has established himself as one of the prominent actors of the Hindi cinema.
When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was known for his appearances in films of the Khiladi series as well as other action films such as Mohra (1994), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Sapoot (1996) and Angaaray (1998). Later, Kumar also gained fame for his drama, romantic and comic roles. He earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of a hysterical professor in Sangharsh (1999) and a criminal in Jaanwar (1999). His performances in romantic films like Dhadkan (2000), Andaaz (2003) and Namastey London (2007); drama films like Waqt (2005) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007); comedy films like Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006) and Singh Is Kinng (2008) were all well received. In 2007, he starred in four consecutive commercially successful films. 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$15 million). His other films like OMG (2012), Special 26 (2012), Holiday (2014) and Gabbar Is Back (2015) were highly successful critically and commercially. From January 2016 to August 2017, he starred in five domestic net ₹100 crore plus grossers in a row with films Airlift (2016), Housefull 3 (2016), Rustom (2016), Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017).
Apart from acting, Kumar has also 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. The next year, he founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company.] In 2012, he founded another production company called Grazing Goat Pictures. In 2014, Kumar launched TV realty show Dare 2 Dance. He also owns the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League. As of August 2017, he is the tenth highest paid actor in the world, according to Forbes.
In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an Honorary Doctorate 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.
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