Action star, comedy king, pioneer of socially conscious films, how reinvention helped in box office success [BL Specials]

While Bollywood critics harp on nepotism, people forget that the 90s gave us stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar who are completely self-made. The latter worked as a chef at a restaurant in Bangkok before he decided to try his luck in the world of modelling. His career kicked off as he found that made more money than ever before. As luck would have it he bagged his first film soon with Deedar. The much-loved Abbas Mastan thriller Khiladi (1992) gave him his first blockbuster. Post that, he established himself as the action king with the Khiladi series. In our BollywoodLife Specials, we track how Akshay Kumar reinvented himself in every decade and carved his career to be one of Bollywood’s most saleable and enduring superstars… Also Read – Gadar 2 vs OMG 2 box office clash: Anil Sharma reacts, cites Barbie-Oppenheimer example

King of reinvention

Akshay Kumar got his Filmfare nominations for romantic films like Yeh Dillagi and Dil Toh Pagal Hai (1997). But post 1995 he had a number of flops as well. He picked up his first Filmfare for Best Villain for Ajnabee. But Hera Pheri has showed the world his acting chops in the world of comedy. The 2000s were dominated by blockbuster comedy movies like Welcome (2007), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Singh Is Kinng (2008), Garam Masala (2005) and others. He dominated that genre and how. Also Read – Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: Kartik Aaryan to start filming from THIS date; here’s all about the third installment

Total visionary

Akshay Kumar was one of the first to tell producers that he would opt for a profit sharing ratio. He is hailed as one of the richest actors of Bollywood. Akshay Kumar formed two production houses Hari Om Production and Grazing Goat Pictures. They are into production of Hindi and Punjabi movies. Also Read – How Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar and more A listers handled big box office clashes 

Social films

This is one area where Akshay Kumar made a truly distinct mark for himself. He established himself as the face of nationalistic cinema with films like Kesari, Airlift, Gold, Mission Mangal post 2015. At the same time, he stood out with socially conscious films like Pad Man, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha and OMG. Akshay Kumar became the face of Government of India due to his film choices. He also won National Award for Rustom (2016).

Lean phase

He also delivered one of the biggest post pandemic hits with Sooryavanshi. But some of his films have tanked badly. His fans and critics have slammed him for signing on remakes post 2021. Another huge complaint has been his tendency to do multiple films in a year. But with a good line-up of movies, it looks like he will be back soon.

Low profile

Akshay Kumar has had the image of a family man post marriage. He comes across as a supportive husband and doting dad. For someone who always made news for his affairs and how he broke the hearts of women like Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty, he has done really well. In fact, both the ladies have also made peace with him.

OMG 2 is coming in theatres in the Independence Day weekend clashing with Gadar 2. Akshay Kumar is looking very good as Lord Mahadev. The trailer has the right amount of suspense to bring in the audience. Moreover, he has big sequels like Welcome 3, Hera Pheri 3, Jolly LLB 3 lined up. The superstar will be seen in Soorarai Pottru remake made by Sudha Kongara. Staying true to his core strengths, he will come out all guns blazing in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan which is Eid 2024 release. While 2022 might have been his lean phase, let us not forget he is master at changing fortunes around.

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