Akshay Kumar

Undeniably one of the most bankable stars in Bollywood today, Akshay Kumar’s track record is impeccable, with most of his films setting records soon after they release. In a career spanning almost three decades, he has tried his hand at almost every possible genre: from action, comedy and drama to socially relevant and patriotic films. The journey of reaching stardom wasn’t easy for the 52-year old, who started out as a waiter at a Bangkok restaurant. Kumar (who was born Rajiv Bhatia) ranked fourth in the Forbes magazine’s list of highest-paid actors around the world, this year.

Kumar is one of the few Bollywood A-listers to do a film around menstruation (Pad Man), and sanitation (Toilet — Ek Prem Katha). He was conferred the National Film Award for Best Actor for Rustom (2016), based on the story of Indian naval officer KM Nanavati. Kumar is also a philanthropist, and has donated money to various relief funds. In 2017, he launched Bharat Ke Veer initiative with the help of the Home Ministry where people can send money directly to the bank accounts of family members of soldiers martyred in the line of duty.

He is married to author-actor Twinkle Khanna, and they have two children: son Aarav, and daughter Nitara.