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Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar turns 50 today. In a career spanning more than 25 years, Kumar has appeared in over a 100 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. In August 2016, Kumar has become the first actor whose movies have crossed the Rs 3000 crore (₹30 billion (US$470 million)) in their lifetime collection. Having done so, he has established himself as a leading contemporary actor of Hindi cinema.
Well, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, today we are going to tell you some untold things about his life, which you didn’t know.
Akshay Kumar is not his real name
Akshay Kumar is not the real name of our beloved actor. His real name is Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia. Akshay Kumar was initially his stage name that stuck to him and became his real name for the world.
Akshay has a Canadian Citizenship
Akshay was born in Amritsar, Punjab, he grew up in Delhi. Before he became a Bollywood star, he was learning martial arts in Bangkok. He’s never misses an opportunity to play a patriot, in films and on social media. But he can’t vote in India. That’s because he holds a Canadian passport and had to give up his Indian citizenship for the same. Canada offered him citizenship with great honour and since India doesn’t recognise dual citizenship, he decided to give it up.
Used to work as a Chef in his struggling days
Due to financial crises, Rajiv took to odd jobs like being a waiter and a chef at a hotel in Bangkok. His efforts paid off when he returned to his homeland with a black belt in Taekwondo. He went to Bangkok to learn martial arts but he also took up this job on the side.
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Used to work as a peon
Calcutta was his first spot in India where Akshay worked as a peon for a year. Dhaka was next where he worked as a salesman for a brief period of six months. Next up was Delhi where he worked as a jewelry trader. Finally, he took to teaching martial arts to school children in Mumbai. Akshay was directionless in life and accepted whatever life threw at him. Little did he know that he was very close to fame.
Zero to Hero
It was one of his students who probed him into modeling. He got his pictures clicked and in no time, he was earning his existing monthly remuneration in just a span of two hours! Akshay fell in love with the glamour world and that’s how Akshay Kumar was born. He started dropping his pictures in offices of well-known producers and directors. After days of anonymity and a string of rejections, he landed his first movie, Deedar. It was director-duo Abbas Mustan who breathed life into Akshay Kumar’s career and established him with Khiladi.
The failure of Mela movie led Twinkle Khanna to Marry Akshay
Akshay had a love at first sight when he saw his future wife Twinkle Khanna during a photo session for Filmfare awards. The bond between the two grew stronger after appearing opposite to each other in movie International Khiladi.
Reprotedly, Twinkle Khanna told Akshay that she would marry him if her then upcoming movie Mela failed on the box office. Luckily for Akshay, it did and they got married in 2001. Twinkle Khanna considers Akshay as her Trophy Husband.
Inspiration to many
In more than two decades of his Bollywood career, Akshay has proved his acting prowess in more than a hundred movies and has been loved in every genre. With prestigious awards like the Padma Shri and the Rajiv Gandhi Award, two successful production companies and outstanding achievements in social work, Akshay Kumar is one of the highest-paid actors in the world, a global icon and an inspiration to many!
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