Being the son of legendary yesteryear superstar Vinod Khanna is not an easy title to have, we’re sure. But the unconventionally good looking and talented Akshaye Khanna has managed to carve a niche for himself, and create an individual identity for himself in the Hindi film industry.
The underrated actor was born on 28 March, 1975, to Bollywood’s foremost superstar at the time Vinod Khanna. This 38 year old good looker trained extremely hard to become an actor, partaking in lessons at the famed Namit Kapoor Acting Institute in Mumbai.
Akshaye got his first big break in the year 1997, when he debuted at the age of 22, in his father’s production Himalay Putra. Though the film was a box office disaster, Akshaye was noticed for his intense, brooding good looks and sincere acting. This is perhaps what landed him a role in J.P. Dutta’s ensemble film Border, later that year. For this film, Akshaye won the Filmfare Best Debut award in the following year.
In fact, the year 1997-1998 was a bonanza year for him, wherein he did no less than four films! Among those were Mohabbat and Kudrat, following which he starred in the 1999 critically acclaimed Laawaris.
However, Akshaye’s real breakthrough performance came in 1999, with Subhash Ghai’s Taal. Starring opposite the beautiful Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye garnered much critical acclaim once again, for his portrayal of Manav, the gentle millionaire. Luckily for him, this film went on to do fairly well at the ticketing windows too, ushering in a great new millenium for the Khanna scion.
The defining film of his career came a year later, when he was cast in Farhan Akhtar’s seminal cult classic Dil Chahta Hai, a film that went on to define the yuppie generation.
Since then, Akshaye has been seen in average performers like Humraaz, Hungama, Hulchul, Aap Ki Khatir, Salaam-E-Ishq, Gandhi My Father, No Problem and many others.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AKSHAYE:
Akshaye’s career graph has been average, but his skills as an actor have grown exponentially since his debut. He has developed a unique persona, different from his father Vinod Khanna, and his elder brother Rahul Khanna.
Rahul too, to be fair, has been seen more in offbeat, unconventional roles, so it would be unfair to pit the two brothers against each other. Nevertheless, Akshaye is someone who has stood by his choice of films, and is unabashed about being miles away from the rat race.
We look forward to much more quality work from this underrated actor, and hope that like his father, he too tastes the sweet fruit of superstardom soon.
