Born as Rajiv Bhatia, Akshay Kumar is Bollywood's real action hero. After working as a waiter in Bangkok, where he trained in martial arts, Akshay's rise in Bollywood as a hero has been meteoric.

With films such as Khiladi, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, he established his success as a screen talent who performed his own stunts and action scenes.

Since 2000, Akshay has also worked in a number of comedies and is now recognised as an actor with great comic timing.

In 2007, Akshay achieved the rare feat of delivering 4 back to back hit films and is now rumoured to be Bollywood's highest paid actor.

Akshay's personal life has been quite colourful as he's been linked to Raveena Tandon, Ayesha Jhulka, Shilpa Shetty, Priyanka Chopra and even Rekha. He is currently married to Twinkle Khanna and has 1 son, Araav.