Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor who appears in Hindi language films, also known as Bollywood. During the 90s, Kumar was primarily described as the action hero of Bollywood,starring in hit action films such as Khiladi (1992), Mohra (1994) and Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), and being particularly known for his "Khiladi Series". However, he was simultaneously recognised for his performances in romantic films like Yeh Dillagi (1994) and Dhadkan (2000) as well as dramatic films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001), showing his versatility to perform a range of roles.

In 2002, he won his first Filmfare Award under the Best Villain category, for his performance in Ajnabee (2001). Willing to change his intransigent image, Kumar later ventured mostly into comedy films. His comic performances in films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005) and Jaan-E-Mann (2006) met with critical acclaim.

He studied martial arts in Bangkok and worked as a Chef. He then came back to Mumbai, where he started teaching martial arts. One of his students happened to be a photographer and recommended him to do modelling. The student gave him a modelling assignment for a small company. For his two hours posing in front of the camera, Kumar got Rs. 5,000, compared to his previous salary of Rs. 4,000 in one month. That was one of the main reasons why he chose to be a model. After a couple of months of modelling, Kumar was finally offered a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.

Kumar made his Bollywood acting debut with Saugandh, which was unnoticed. His first major hit was the 1992 thriller film Khiladi.

he received various nominations for Best Actor award at the Filmfare and Star Screen ceremonies. All these achievements, promoted Kumar as one of the most successful actors of that year.

In 1995, along with his share of unsuccessful movies, he starred in the third film in his Khiladi series Sabse Bada Khiladi, which was another hit. He proved to have success with the Khiladi series, as in the next year he starred in the fourth hit film with Khiladi in the title, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi opposite Rekha and Raveena Tandon, which was one of the highest grossing films of the year.In 1997, he made an extended guest appearance in Yash Chopra's hit film Dil To Pagal Hai, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award nomination.In 2000 he starred in the comedy Hera Pheri (2000) which was a success and showcased his talent at doing comedy just as well as action or romantic roles. He also starred in the romantic film Dhadkan later that same year which was also a box office hit. In 2001, Kumar played a negative role in the film Ajnabee for which he won much acclaim as well as the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

After the success of Hera Pheri, he starred in many successful comedy films which include Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and Garam Masala (2005).

Apart from his action, comedy and romantic roles he also displayed a flair for dramatic roles in films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001), Ajnabee (2001), Bewafaa (2005) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) which did moderately well in India, but was a hit overseas.In 2006 he starred in a sequel to Hera Pheri titled Phir Hera Pheri which was a huge success at the box office.He ended the year with Bhagam Bhag which was a success2007 proved to be one of his most successful years during his career in the industry. His first release, Namastey London was critically and commercially successful in both India and overseas.Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a big box office success too, simultaneously becoming his fourth successive hit at the box office.