AKSHAY KHANNA...........

Akshaye Khanna (born March 28, 1975) in Mumbai, India is a two-time Filmfare Award-winning popular Indian Bollywood actor. After making his debut in Himalaya Putra (1997), Khanna has went on and worked in many critically and commercially successful movies.

Akshaye Khanna is the youngest son of actor Vinod Khanna. His older brother Rahul Khanna is also an actor.

At the age of 22 in 1997, Akshaye made his debut in his father's production "Himalaya Putra", which didn't do well at the box office. His next release was J. P. Dutta's "Border" (1997). The film did very well at the box office, becoming the highest grossing film of that year and earning him a Filmfare Best Debut Award.

Most of his releases that followed failed to do well until Subhash Ghai's "Taal" (1999) released. The film fared moderately well and became the fourth highest grossing film of 1999. This was followed by Farhan Akhtar's moderately successful "Dil Chahta Hai" (2001) which became the fifth highest grossing film of 2001. His performance was well received by critics and won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

Khanna's next release was Abbas Mustan's "Humraaz"(2002), in which he played a negative role for the first time. His performance was applauded and earned him a nomination for Filmfare Best Villain Award. He then attempted comedy in Priyadarshan's "Hungama" (2003) and "Hulchul" (2004). Both films did well at the box office, with the latter becoming one of the highest grossing films of 2004.



Although his releases, "Shaadi Se Pehle" (2006) and "Aap Ki Khatir" (2006) failed to do well at the box office, his other release that year,"36 China Town" performed moderately well.

Nikhil Advani's multi-starrer, "Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love" was Khanna's first release in 2007. Although much hyped, the film failed to do well.This was followed by the suspense thriller "Naqaab" which didn't do that well.Akshaye's recent portrayal of Harilal Gandhi in the critically acclaimed, "Gandhi, My Father" was praised by critics and was mentioned as his best performance so far.

Akshay Khanna

Today, everyone is dying of curiosity to find out if Abhishek Bachchan can live up to his illustrious name. In early 1997, there was a similar atmosphere of anticipation as another luminous star promoted and presented his beloved son. Back then, it was the stylish Vinod Khanna who produced 'Himalayputra' to launch Akshay.

Every journalist in town clamoured to interview the young Khanna who sported a charming smile and cute dimples that turned girls dizzy. But while the world was eager to read about him, Akshay wasn't in any mood to face frivolous questions about the films he'd signed, or his relationship with his father and brother Rahul, or then his views on life in general.

The second son of Vinod Khanna, Akshaye Khanna inherited the same classic good looks as his dad. He charmed his way into the hearts of teenyboppers right with his first film Himalayaputra. Though the movie didn't do too well, Akshaye got the kind of recognition he was looking for.

A versatile actor, Akshaye proved his acting abilities in his second film J P Dutta's Border. Though the movies that followed, like Mohabbat, Doli Sajake Rakhna, Laawaris and Kudrat proved to be a disappointment at the box office Akshaye's acting abilities didn't go unnoticed.



A semi-hit with Rishi Kapoor's Aa Ab Laut Chale and Taal against Aishwarya Rai exposed the audiences to the wide variety of emotions and drama of this young man. With Dil Chatha Hai, which not just gave a different feel to the "youth centric' films in India, but brought a whole new genre of non "heroic' heroes to the silver screen, which Akshaye Khanna was more than comfortable playing. He again experimented with two totally different roles with Hungama and Humraaz, which did well at the box office. Then came another semi hit with Hulchul where he was paired against Kareena Kapoor.

His forthcoming releases include Gandhi, My Father, 36 China Town and Autograph.

Meanwhile, 'Himalayputra', came and went without much ado. Despite the film's box-office failure, Akshay was given a warm welcome by the industry and touted as the most talented star son to have graced the screen in years.

Soon after, he justified this faith with a remarkably sensitive performance in J P Dutta's war epic 'Border' (1997), where he rubbed shoulders with established stars like Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty and even picked up a couple of awards for his work.

But after that, things changed for the worse as a string of flop piled up against his name. Perhaps it was his imprudent choice of films: 'Mohabbat' (1997), 'Kudrat', 'Laawaris' (1998), etc that turned the tide against Akshaye. For, unlike close competitor Bobby Deol, he hardly had any important banners under his belt. But even through all those senseless flicks, Akshay won rave reviews for his spontaneity.

With the unfortunate failure of films such as Priyadarshan's 'Doli Sajake Rakhna' (1998), however, Akshay's stock started falling as dramatically as it had risen. His stiff attitude towards the press and a fast receding hairline only worsened matters.

Then, he rejected a couple of seemingly important films including Deepa Mehta's '1947-Earth' (1999). The part eventually went to elder brother Rahul Khanna.



Finally, there came a ray of hope in the form of Rishi Kapoor's 'Aa Ab Laut Chalein' (1999). The film proved to be a modest success and everyone praised Akshaye yet again, although it was Aishwarya Rai who hogged the show for most part.

But even Subhash Ghai's 'Taal' (1999), Akshaye's most prestigious assignment since 'Border', couldn't revive his floundering career. Instead, the film's second hero, Anil Kapoor, repositioned himself as a character actor and wowed audiences with his new image.

This was nearly ten months ago. Since then, Akshay has done precious nothing. There was one eminently forgettable 'Dahek' which released early this year, while the much-delayed 'Love You Hamesha' which may finally hit the screen in coming months.

And the going's getting only tougher with each passing day. What with the likes of Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan cornering a sizeable chunk of the pie between them. Akshay, for all his talent, is in danger of getting relegated to the sidelines. Which is such a pity….