Akshay Kumar

As Hollywood players such as Warner Bros. Pictures, Lionsgate and more recently Dreamworks venture East for a stake in Indian Cinema’s $10bn worth industry, the true international player of Indian Cinema, Akshay Kumar, India’s leading and A List star, continues to solidify his position as the undisputed, global brand ambassador for the world’s largest film industry.  With no film dynasty behind him, as is the case with many of the actors in the Indian film fraternity, Akshay stumbled across acting inadvertently. He had left India to work as a chef in Bangkok where he was also training in martial arts – one of his primary passions. He started performing martial arts at the age of seven, pursuing it professionally for five years in Thailand with Master Kim-Ling Chang, before returning to India.

His diverse acting capabilities have been recognised by a lengthy list of esteemed film accolades, including a string of Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine Awards, IIFA Awards, Apsara Academy Awards and Star Screen Awards, for roles ranging from action hero and anti-hero to comedian and lover.

As well as his award-winning film work, Akshay Kumar is one of the most renowned social activists and humanitarians from the Indian film industry. Akshay’s global social and charity work includes his role as Worldwide Ambassador for the Paralympics, promoting the cause of the physically disabled engaging in competitive sports; his role as an HIV/AIDS activist, working as Global Ambassador for Population Solutions International (PSI), which recently involved a trip to the north Indian state of Rajasthan with Hollywood actress Ashley Judd, to promote what is being propounded as EC (Emergency Contraception), to prevent unwanted pregnancies; Akshay is also an active campaigner against human trafficking and has joined the United Nations in their efforts to curb this global phenomenon. This included featuring in a two-minute video called One Life, No Price, which brought together the United Nations’ Office on Drug Control (UNODC) with key members from Indian cinema, as part of a broader programme called UN GIFT (Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking). Akshay is also an active fundraiser for charities and institutions across the world, including recent fundraising work for the Trillium Health Care Centre in Mississauga and the Vancouver Children’s Hospital.

A family man and loving father to his young son, Aarav, Akshay Kumar also engages in work to help disadvantaged children across the globe. In February 2008, he introduced singing child prodigy, Tejaswani, to the world on Zee TV’s popular show, Little Champs. A gifted singer, Tejaswani is aged 21, but has the mind of a three-year-old, barely communicating in sentences, but with the singing ability of an angel. On meeting the extraordinary and gifted child, Akshay was deeply moved, propelling him to use his position as one of India’s most respected stars to give a voice to Tejaswani’s unsung talents. The superstar brought Tejaswani to the forefront of public awareness to influence other parents to encourage their own children, who may suffer from various disorders.

Deeply affected by the successive train blasts in Mumbai, which tragically claimed the lives of so many innocent victims, Akshay rendered a hymn for a Punjabi devotional album Nirgun Raakh Leeya – a first for a major Indian star – which was dedicated to the people who lost their lives, and the loved ones they left behind.

With his background in martial arts and a strong passion for adrenaline sports, Akshay Kumar is one of the few Indian actors to perform his own film stunts. His most dangerous stunt involved standing atop a plane that was flying at 1,000ft and jumped mid-air onto a flying hot air balloon in his film, Khiladi 420. He also escaped a near death experience when he sustained an injury while swimming with 35 sharks in the Bahamas, for his film, Blue. As an expert in Parkour (urban free-running), Akshay is also the first international celebrity to have installed a Parkour gym at his residence in Mumbai, India.

A man who has reached the very top through faith, fearlessness and embracing all of life’s challenges, Akshay Kumar combines his position as one of the leading global ambassadors of Indian cinema with tireless and selfless charity work, pursuant of his goal to help people all over the world, through his blessed and fortunate position.

Akshay – On Screen

Akshay continues to be in a unique league of his own, untouched by any other Indian film star to date. With more than 100 films under his belt, many of which have crossed the shores to become critically acclaimed, amongst a remarkable list of accolades and achievements, Akshay is working towards his mission to bridge the gap between Indian cinema and its western counterpart Hollywood. Through his ingenious collaborations and interactions with Hollywood players and institutions, and widespread international fan base, successes and appreciation, the global king of Indian cin ema has been instrumental in being an influential brand ambassador in the gradual merging of Indian cinema into the global market. What’s more he has become the international face for Indian cinema, recognised by the industry’s 3.6 billion global fan base.

Akshay is fondly termed the ‘Hit Machine’ for his unrivalled ability to deliver international Box Office successes on each of his film releases. With his proven skills in martial arts and a great sense of timing in comedy, he is also the most sought after actor as he commands strong box–office openings. 2008 saw the world’s most successful Indian film to date, Singh is Kinng which re-wrote Indian film history. The film which starred Akshay as lead protagonist and marked the launch of his home production banner Hari Om Productions, raked in Rs 18 crore in the first two days, smashing previous records set in the past 10 years in India, UK, USA and the Middle East. The film also featured a unique collaboration between Akshay and hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg, for the title track and music video for the film. Singh is Kinng also received a gala presentation at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 2008) to much acclaim and appreciation.

2007 saw all four of his films become staggering, international Box Office successes, with a billing of over 500 crore rupees profit at the India and overseas box office. According to the UK Film Council 2007 Yearbook, out of the top 13 highest grossing Indian films released in the UK and Ireland which generated £9.7mn at the box office, four featured Akshay as lead protagonist and grossed a mammoth £4.5mn. In December 2007, his film Welcome was the biggest Bollywood Christmas release grossing $4.5million in its first two weeks. Akshay’s October 2007 release, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, made the biggest Bollywood Box Office opening of 2007, up until that point. In August 2007, Akshay’s Heyy Babyy was a huge international box office triumph, breaking into the UK Box Office Top 10 in its first three days. His March 2007 release, Namastey London, dominated the UK Box Office Top Ten for several concurrent weeks. It was the first Bollywood film to feature an entirely British crew and has also been added to the Oscars Library.

Indian cinema has begun to reflect broader shifts in the world of cinema as it adapts itself to international audiences. A pioneer in understanding this new trend, Akshay stars in the upcoming film, ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ which showcases two of the world’s superpowers, India and China, on one cinematic canvas. The film also marks Warner Bros, Pictures foray into mainstream Indian cinema and is loosely based on Akshay’s life story. In his position as global ambassador for Indian cinema, Akshay will also star with Sylvester Stallone, Bond girl Denise Richards and Brandon Routh of Superman Returns in ‘Kambakht Ishq’ – the first Indian movie production to be shot in Hollywood’s Universal Studios. ‘Kambakht Ishq’ boasts of being one of the highest budgeted Indian films (approximate US$20 million) in the history of Indian cinema. The film has been shot widely in Los Angeles and the story revolves around a stuntman of Indian origin who takes Hollywood by storm but finds the thought of marriage simply out of the question.

Taking his global ambassadorial status to a pinnacle, Akshay is also the brand ambassador of fashion brand LEVIS as well as the International Indian Film Academy’s (IIFA) ‘Green Global Foundation’, which champions the issue of global warming and is partnered with ‘United Nations Environmental Programme’ and ‘The Energy and Resources Institute’ (TERI). He has also been honoured with a doctorate degree from ‘The University of Windsor’ Ontario, Canada for his outstanding contribution to the Indian film industry and for the social work he has rendered to the people of Canada.