Biography

Akshay Kumar            INDIAN ACTOR WRITTEN BY:  Melissa Albert LAST UPDATED:  Sep 5, 2019  See Article History Alternative Title:  Rajiv  Hari Om Bhatia Akshay Kumar , original name  Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia , (born September 9, 1967, Amritsar, Punjab, India), Indian actor who became one of Bollywood’s leading performers, known for his versatility. Bhatia was the son of a governme nt worker in a country in which  acting  often runs in the family. As a young man, he trained extensively in dance and martial arts, and his first  movie  role, nonspeaking and uncredited, was as a martial arts instructor in  Aaj  (1987;  Today ). He worked at a  Bangkok  food stall, tried his hand at modeling, and appeared in several films before being offered a starring role in  Deedar  (1992; “Glimpse”) by director Pramod Chakravarthy. It was in those early stages of his career that he took the professional name Akshay Kumar. Kumar acted in a steady stream of thrillers and fast-paced