Akshay Kumar is one of the most desirable actors to hail from the stable of Bollywood cinemas A-listers, whose magnanimous appeal extends to film directors, audiences and critics alike. He has positioned himself as one of the most sought-after acting talents in the industry, combining as he does, the acting prowess of Christian Bale, the smouldering good looks of Colin Farrell and the martial arts skills of Jackie Chan translated to the global film phenomenon of Bollywood. Akshay Kumar has attained demi-god status in India and throughout the South Asian diaspora, on the merits of his diverse acting talent and abundance of on-screen charm and sex appeal, unlike many fellow Bollywood A-listers, who have largely made it in a near-impenetrable industry through familial or social connections. After studying Martial Arts one of his primary passions in Hong Kong, Akshay Kumar returned to India, where he was quickly snapped up by the fashion industry to front campaigns for some of the countrys leading fashion brands. It was through his modelling work that he was scouted by a leading Bollywood film director and thus made a welcomed debut to the industry with the 1991 Box Office hit, Saugandh. One of the few leading stars of the Bollywood film industry to fulfil their own action stunts, with his expertise in the realms of martial arts and adrenaline sports, and adding to that his rugged good looks, Akshay Kumar was a popular choice as the lead in many successful Bollywood action flicks. However, he has gone on to prove his limitless talents across a broad range of film genres and is one of the few luminaries of Bollywood cinema that has been keen to divert away from the formulaic hero prototype that the majority of his industry peers so often opt for.His diversity of acting capabilities has been recognised by an impressive 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 anti-hero and villain to comedian and lover. With near 100 hit films under his acting belt, Akshay Kumars recent release, Namastey London, was a huge international box office triumph, and dominated the UK Box Office Top Ten for several concurrent weeks. The film was an Anglo-Indian project in which Akshay played the role of a lovestruck Punjabi boy, who uproots to England in pursuit of the girl he loves, and the subsequent socio-cultural difficulties and prejudices he faces. Namastey London was the first ever Bollywood production to feature an entirely British production crew, and further demonstrated Akshays huge international success and appeal. Ashley Judd, Hollywood actress and an HIV/AIDS activist and global ambassador for Population Solutions International (PSI), was recently joined by Akshay Kumar to promote what is being propounded as EC (Emergency Contraception) to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the northern state of Rajasthan. Akshays global community and charity work also extends to the Para Olympics, for which he is Worldwide Ambassador, bringing together both his lifelong passion for sports and his position as one of Bollywoods leading stars, to promote awareness of an extremely important international cause. Akshay Kumar has also become a popular celebrity brand endorser for several India-based consumer products, such as Thums Up soft drink - Indias version of Pepsi - the commercial for which features Akshay effortlessly navigating a high-octane Parkour run of Mumbais urban landscape.
Among Akshay Kumars huge international fan base, he has also gained immense popularity and icon status among the international gay community, largely due to his perfectly toned physique and extraordinarily sexy looks a following of which Akshay is extremely proud, although he is happily married to former actress, Twinkle Khanna, with whom he has a young son named Araav.
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