Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Biography
Hi, I´m Akhay Kumar. I´m six foot one and weigh 80 kilos, though at
times I wish I were two inches taller.
I was born in old Dehli. When I was a child we used to stay in
Chandni Chowk, on a street called Parothewali Galli, explains why I
can´t resist parothas (comment of the writer: parothas is a sort of
Indian bread) even today!
My father worked for UNICEF. Having been a sportsman himself – he was
a wrestler in his younger days – he always encouraged me to
participate in sports.He used to tell me that if I wasn´t brilliant
in studies it was okay, as long as I was selected vice-captain of my
school volleyball team.
He used to accompany me to every match. None of the other student´s
parents came but Dad used to take half day off from work and come for
every match. In between sets, he would give the players water to
drink and even wipe the perspiration from my forchead with a towel!
Now that I´m an actor, he is my biggest fan. He has watched every
film of mine, even the flop ones, many times over. He saw "Khiladiyon
Ka Khiladi" 13 times! B ut more than that, I am a big fan of his. I
admire him and would like to be just like him. He is patience
personified, cool even in the worst of situations. Altough we were
not financially well-off earlier, he made us feel very secure. He
never allowed us to feel as if we were lacking in anything.
Saturday was his day off, so every Saturday he took us all to watch a
film at rupam cinema.It was our regular cinema and the management
always kept tickets for the Saturday evening show for us.
I have always been very attached to my mother. Even today, whenever
she is out of town, I fall ill. When I go for outdoor schedules, I
fall ill.
My sister is closest to me. She is the one who knows all my secrets.
I have never cried as much as I did the day she got married. Today
although she stays in Mumbai, I still miss her a lot and makes sure
she lives with us atleast for a few days every month.
She has been my worst critic. And I make it a point to show her all
my films because, she would pointblank tell me if the film is good or
bad. She can smell a bad film from a mile. If she listen to just one
song of a film, she can tell how good the film will be.
Sometimes I narrate a script to her before signing a film. There were
times hen she and my family did not like a script I had narrated but
when I went ahead and did the film, thinking I knew it all. But in
the end, they were right.
Since childhood, my sister has been a very talented painter. In fact,
for my bedroom in the new house she has painted ten-foot long oil
painting.
My strong point, on the other hand, has always been sports. I have
been connected with the word "khiladi" ever since my schooldays. I
used to play volleyball and cricket. There was also a game called
sqareball which was played only in our school, Don Bosco´s. No other
school knew it. It´s a very rough game in which you hit the opponent
with a football and try to knock him down. Sometimes I remember, boys
used to fall flat on their faces and injure themselves.
Akshay Baby
In the school, we had a small gang called the "bloody 10". There was
Thomas, Ramson, Charles, Amit, Jignesh, Rohit Shetty, Monty and me.
They have all gone their separate ways.
Amit is a homeopath somewhere outside Mumbai. Ramson, I have heard,
has become a lawyer. Charles is into politics. Jignesh is into rice
business so we tease him "baniya".
When I meet them today, they say, "Kamaal kiya yaar (comment of the
writer: well done, friend) we never thought you would become a film
star!" I tell them even I never imagined it! It´s just a coincidence.
In my childhood my parents had got my `kundali´ made many times, but
no astrologer had ever predicted that I would become a star.
Another friend of mine from school, I remember, was Ashok Shandilya,
who is now one of India´s best snooker players.
He used to sit with me in class. I still remember once our whole
group was angry with him so we put a laxative in his "paan". He had a
very "loose" day after that!
Unfortunatley, I haven´t been able to get in touch with him after
school. I hope he reads this and calls me up.
Through a friend in school that I first came to know about martial
arts.
I was very thin at the time, weighing barely 60 kilos. Watching my
friend become tougher day by day, thanks karate, I began to feel
insecure and so I asked him to take me along.
Later I got so involved in it that I continued to go, long after he
lost interest.
My father had promised me, that if I going to get a first clas in my
board exams he would send me to Bangkok to study martial arts. I
scored 63 percent so he paid for me flight ticket, which, at that
time, cost hardly Rs. 1500.
In Bangkok, I was received at the airport by my uncle and he got me a
job at the Metro Guest House. My first salary was 1000 baht (around
Rs. 1500). It was more than enough to survive.
Food was no problem, because we worked in a restaurant. In fact, we
used to get fed up of seeing food all around us. Even while we were
cooking we always grabbed a few bites. I was not exactly a chef but I
knew enough cooking to survive. And fortunately even the customers
who ate my food survived!
At night, I slept in the kitchen. In the plush "bedroom" there was a
video and TVon which I watched Hindi films. I remember "Himmatwala",
"Tohfaa"... We used to love Sridevi´s films.
During the day, we used to dance to the songs of the films while
cooking. Inspite of the hard life, we really enjoyed ourselves.
Personal life
After being engaged to actress Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of
veteran actors Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, they finally married
on January 14, 2001. Their son named Aarav was born on September 15,
2002.
In July 2007, a leading Mumbai tabloid newspaper printed a story
saying that Kumar and his wife had fallen out and Kumar had moved out
of his home, staying at a hotel instead.On 26 July 2007 the couple
sent a legal notice to the tabloid, declaring that the rumour was
false. Kumar said:-
The article is a clear representation of careless and irresponsible
journalism. The freedom of press comes with responsibilities, which
seems to have been put aside to give way to shock value journalism.
Filmography
1. Made in China (2009) (pre-production) .... Sidhu
2. Eight by Ten (2008) (filming)
3. Tashan (2008) (filming)
... aka Style (India: English title: literal title)
4. Welcome (2007/I) (completed) .... Rajiv
5. Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) .... Dr. Aditya Shrivastav
6. Heyy Babyy (2007)
7. Namastey London (2007) .... Arjun Ballu Singh
8. Bhagam Bhag (2006) .... Bunty
9. Jaan-E-Mann: Let's Fall in Love... Again (2006) .... Agastya
Rao
... aka Beloved (International: English title)
... aka Heartthrob (USA)
... aka Let's Fall in Love... Again (UK: promotional title)
10. Phir Hera Pheri (2006) .... Raju
... aka Hera Pheri 2 (India: Hindi title)
11. Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006) .... Aditya Malhotra
12. Mere Jeevan Saathi (2006) .... Vicky
... aka Suneel Darshan's Mere Jeevan Saathi (India: Hindi
title: complete title)
13. Family: Ties of Blood (2006) .... Shekhar Bhatia
14. Dosti: Friends Forever (2005) .... Raj Malhotra
15. Deewane Huye Paagal (2005) .... Rocky Hiranandani
16. Garam Masala (2005) .... Mac
17. Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) .... Aditya Thakur
18. Bewafaa (2005) .... Raja
19. Insan (2005) .... Amjad
20. Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004) .... Major Rajeev Singh
21. Aitraaz (2004) .... Raj Malhotra
22. Hatya: The Murder (2004) .... Ravi R. Lal
23. Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) .... Sunny
24. Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin (2004) .... Inspector Ajay
25. Aan: Men at Work (2004) .... DCP Hari Om Patnaik
... aka Aan (India: Hindi title: short title)
26. Police Force: An Inside Story (2004) .... Vijay Singh
27. Khakee (2004) .... Sr. Inspector Shekhar Verma
... aka The Uniform (International: English title: informal
literal title)
28. Andaaz (2003) .... Raj Malhotra
29. Talaash: The Hunt Begins... (2003) .... Arjun
30. Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani (2002) .... Atul
31. Awara Paagal Deewana (2002) .... Guru Gulab Khatri
32. Aankhen (2002) .... Vishwas Prajapati
33. Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya (2002) .... Raj Malhotra
34. Ajnabee (2001) .... Vikram Bajaj ((Vicky)
35. Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001) .... Ajay Kapoor
... aka Bond of Love (International: English title)
... aka Ek Rishtaa (India: Hindi title: short title)
36. Khiladi 420 (2000) .... Dev Kumar Malhotra
37. Dhadkan (2000) .... Ram
38. Hera Pheri (2000) .... Raju
39. Jaanwar (1999) .... Badshah/Bapu Lohar
40. Sangharsh (1999) .... Professor Aman Varma
41. Zulmi (1999) .... Raj
42. International Khiladi (1999) .... Rahul 'Devraj'
43. Aarzoo (1999) .... Vijay Khanna
44. Barood (1998) .... Jai Sharma
45. Angaaray (1998) .... Amar
46. Keemat: They Are Back (1998) .... Dev
47. Aflatoon (1997) .... Rocky/Raja/Parimal Chaturvedi
48. Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) .... Ajay (Special Appearance)
... aka D.T.P.H. (India: English title: promotional
abbreviation)
... aka The Heart Is Crazy (International: English title)
49. Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi (1997) .... Raja
50. Tarazu (1997) .... Inspector Ram Yadav
51. Daava (1997) .... Inspector Arjun
... aka The Challenge (India: English title)
52. Insaaf: The Final Justice (1997) .... Inspector Vikram Singh
... aka Justice (India: English title) (International: English
title)
53. Lahoo Ke Do Rang (1997) .... Sikandar Davai
54. Sapoot (1996) .... Prem
55. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) .... Akshay Malhotra
... aka Players of the Game (International: English title:
informal literal title)
56. Tu Chor Main Sipahi (1996) .... Amar Varma
57. Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995) .... Inspector Vijay Kumar/Lallu
58. Maidan-E-Jung (1995) .... Karan Singh
59. Paandav (1995) .... Inspector Vijay Kumar
60. Hum Hain Bemisaal (1994) .... Vijay Sinha
61. Zaalim (1994) .... Ravi
62. Zakhmi Dil (1994) .... Jaidev Anand
63. Nazar Ke Samne (1994) .... Jai Kumar
64. Suhaag (1994) .... Raj
65. Ikke Pe Ikka (1994) .... Rajiv
66. Amaanat (1994) .... Amar
67. Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) .... Police Inspector Karan
Joglekar
... aka I'm the Expert, You're the Novice (UK)
68. Mohra (1994) .... Amar Saxena
69. Jai Kishen (1994) .... Jai Verma/Kishen
70. Yeh Dillagi (1994) .... Vijay Saigal
... aka The Game of Love (India: English title)
71. Elaan (1994) .... Vishal Chaudhry
72. Sainik (1993) .... Lieutenant Suraj Dutt
73. Waqt Hamara Hai (1993) .... Vikas Kumar Sabkuchwala
74. Kayda Kanoon (1993) .... Inspector Dawood 'D.D.' Durani
75. Dil Ki Baazi (1993) .... Vijay
76. Ashaant (1993) .... Vijay
... aka Vishnu Vijaya (India: Kannada title: dubbed version)
77. Deedar (1992) .... Anand K. Malhotra
... aka Seeing the Beloved's Face
78. Khiladi (1992) .... Raj Malhotra
79. Mr. Bond (1992) .... Mr. Bond
80. Dancer (1991) .... Raju 'Raja'
81. Saugandh (1991) .... Shiva