Akshay Kumar

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), better known by his stage name Akshay Kumar, is an Indian actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has been nominated for Filmfare Awards several times, winning it two times. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was known for his appearances in films of the "Khiladi series" as well as other action films such as
 Waqt Hamara Hai (1993) Mohra (1994) Elaan (1994), Suhaag (1994), Sapoot (1996),
 Jaanwar (1999).

Kumar was born in Delhi, India to Hari Om Bhatia and Aruna Bhatia. His father Hari Om Bhatia was a military officer. From a young age, Kumar was recognized as a performer, particularly as a dancer. He lived in Delhi's Chandni Chowk till he was three years old before moving to, Mumbai, Mumbai, where he lived in Koliwada, a Punjabi dominated area. He received his school education from Don Bosco School and enrolled in Mumbai's Guru Nanak Khalsa College for higher education, but dropped out after a year and went to Bangkok to learn martial arts. Kumar also has a sister, Alka Bhatia. When Kumar was a teenager, his father asked him what he aspired to be. Kumar expressed his desire to become an actor.

After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India.  He studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand, where he learned Muay Thai and worked as a chef and waiter. Upon his return to Mumbai, he commenced the teaching of martial arts. One of his students, an aspiring photographer, recommended Kumar into modeling which ultimately led to a modeling assignment. Kumar effectively made more money within the first two days of shooting, in comparison to his entire month salary, and therefore chose a modeling career path. He also worked as a background dancer in various films. One morning, he missed his flight for an ad-shoot in Bangalore. Disappointed with himself, he visited a film studio along with his portfolio. That evening, Kumar was signed for a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar

After being engaged twice to actress Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of actors Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, Kumar married her on 17 January 2001. Their first child was a boy, whom they named Aarav. Twinkle gave birth to their second child, daughter Nitara, on 25 September 2012. He is known as a protective father and keeps his children away from the media. He stated that he wants to "give them a normal childhood." In 2009, while performing at a show for Levis at Lakme Fashion Week, Kumar asked Twinkle to unbutton his jeans. This incident sparked a controversy which led to a police case being filed against them.

Kumar stays in shape with a combination of kickboxing, basketball, swimming and Parkour as well as working out. While in standard eighth, he had started practicing Karate. He intended to open a martial arts school and the state government of Maharashtra allotted land for the school in Bhayandar. In 2004, he was honored with the Rajiv Gandhi Award for his outstanding achievements in Bollywood. In the same year, he presented the television series Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar for free. In 2008, he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People (India) magazine. The following year Kumar was awarded the highest Japanese honor of "Katana" and a sixth-degree black belt in Kuyukai Gōjū-ryū karate. He was one of the 15 international celebrities invited for the Olympics torch-bearer rally to Canada. He became responsible to endorse the Canadian Tourism by sharing the duty of Brand Ambassador till the summer of 2012. In March 2013, he started a 30-bed cancer shelter for policemen in Naigaon. Kumar is a teetotaller but has endorsed for a liquor brand. Half of the sum was given for charity work. He has also donated ₹50 lakh (US$75, 000) to Salman Khan's Being Human Foundation. As of 2013, Kumar has been Hindi film industry's highest advance taxpayer for six consecutive years. He paid ₹19 crore (US$2. 9 million) as advance tax payment in that year.

In 1997, Kumar endorsed for Pepsi. He previously endorsed for Thums Up for several years. He had also endorsed for Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India,Footwear brand Relaxo, Dollar Club, Micromax Mobile, Red Label, LG Electronics and Manappuram Gold Loan. On 9 August 2014, Kumar performed at his 500th live show. The show was held at the O2 Arena in London as part of the inaugural function of the World Kabaddi League. His first live show was held in 1991 in Delhi. Kumar owns a team in the Kabbadi League. He helped Khanna with editing the drafts of her debut book Mrs Funnybones. Kumar also had donated a sum of ₹90 laces to drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra