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3 Decades of Akshay Kumar: The journey from just an ordinary Khiladi to being the Sabse Bada Khiladi
As Akshay Kumar completes 3 decades Bollywood, here's a look at his journey in Hindi film industry that was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Decoding the highs and lows
Akshay Kumar made his entry in Bollywood on January 25, 1991 with Saugandh and 30 years later, one can comfortably say that the rest is history. As a rank outsider, he came, he saw and he conquered his standing in the Hindi film industry as not just as a superstar but also, one of the most versatile actors. And it was rather a long journey for him, to silent his critics who at multiple point of time wrote him off.
Through the 30 years, he saw ups and downs like anyone else, but as they say, only the ones who are dignified in accepting their lows, rise like a phoenix to reach the pinnacle. The most significant factor that puts Akshay in a league apart from his contemporaries is his discipline. The fact that he has been consistent in bringing four films a year is a replica of his work ethics. Ask any producer in the industry about a superstar who respects everyone’s time, and the common answer would be “Akshay Kumar” and this quality of his has helped him bag films even in the lowest phase of his career, like in the late 90s, when his films couldn’t strike chord at the box-office. Someone had once said, "A disciplined actor can never be out of work."
And the quality of discipline extends even when he is promoting the film, as seldom have I heard stories about Akshay making a journalist wait for their turn of interviews. In the last few years, the Akshay Kumar model of working is being looked upon by producers as a “sure shot formula” and some have even gone ahead to call it the “low risk, high return model”, given the fact that Akshay manages to wrap up most of his films in a span of 30 to 40 days, on a limited budget of 30 to 40 crore, in addition to his acting fees, and major chunk of the investment (including acting fees) is recovered through the sale of satellite, digital and music rights.
Ask any producer in the industry about a superstar who respects everyone’s time, and the common answer would be “Akshay Kumar”
The biggest 10 hits of Akshay Kumar’s career include Mohra, Rowdy Rathore, Welcome, 2.0, Khiladiyo Ka Khiladi, Housefull 2, Housefull 4, Singh Is King, Holiday and Mission Mangal whereas his work with highest recall value include the Hera Pheri Franchise, Baby, Garam Masala, Namaste London, Khakee, Airlift, and of course, Khiladi, the film that gave him a brand name that got embodied with its personality. A unique record that Akshay has on his name today is to have maximum hit films under his kitty among all his contemporaries. Like is the case with the success count as well, as Akshay has as over 52 “successful films” with over 31 of them being "clean hits" or above.
The best phases of Akshay Kumar as a superstar include the current phase that started in January 2016 with Airlift and is continuing until his last release, Good Newwz, with 8 of his 10 releases emerging clean hits, and one being a successful venture. The path of this best phases took off with Special 26 in 2013, which was a game changer in terms of Akshay’s image in the industry positioning him as a “reliable actor”. This was followed by Holiday, and Baby which consolidated his positioning of being an actor who is delivering quality content and eventually translated into box-office returns on a consistent basis. Another best phase of Akshay is the one in second half of last decade, with him sweeping over the box-office with his series of comedy content. From Garam Masala to Phir Hera Pheri to Bhagam Bhaag, Namaste London, Hey Baby, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Wecome and Singh Is King, Akshay was on a roll between 2005 and 2008 with a series of hit films, and also solid box-office openers. It’s the phase of 2005 to 2008 that has also made him the king of meme world today, with every expression and every dialogue of his in those comedies making for a new meme. It shows the relevance and impact of those character, standing test of times.
The biggest 10 hits of Akshay Kumar’s career include Mohra, Rowdy Rathore, Welcome, 2.0, Khiladiyo Ka Khiladi, Housefull 2, Housefull 4, Singh Is King, Holiday and Mission Mangal
However, he has seen some lows as well, and two of his worst phases include the one from December 1994 till May 1996, which ended with a superhit in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi and July 1996 to December 1999, ending with back-to-back successful films in Jaanwar and Hera Pheri with a cameo from Mr and Mrs Khiladi in October 1997.
The fourth decade of Akshay’s career opens with what is touted to be his biggest film till date, the Rohit Shetty directed Sooryavanshi. The exhibitors, trade and the audience alike have pinned their hopes on this cop drama to be the first film that would bring back the audience in cinema halls and the speculations are rife that it would arrive during the Holi weekend. We still await an official confirmation from the producers about the release date of Sooryavanshi, but all said and done, in an ideal scenario, it was poised to be the biggest Akshay Kumar film till date. Even now, the expectations are the same, despite Covid, as the makers as also Akshay have promised action like never before, and apart from comedy, action is another space that the die-hard fans of Akshay love to see him in.
The fourth decade of Akshay’s career opens with what is touted to be his biggest film till date, the Rohit Shetty directed Sooryavanshi.
It’s action and comedy that made him the “Sabse Bada Khiladi” of Hindi cinema, and we are sure, he would keep showering the audience with lots of action and comedy in the fourth decade of his career, and balance it out with some serious content driven cinema including thrillers and social drama’s. Here’s to 30 more years of entertainment.
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