Akshaye Khanna : Bollywood Star (India)

Akshaye Khanna: Biography

What's tinsel town's most magnetic new star got that others don't? Sure, he's beyond gorgeous, but looks alone couldn't cause this kind of frenzy. He's charming and has a brooding sensuality that makes him a very compelling guy. Like his dashing, suave father, Vinod Khanna, he carries an aura of his own. To the powers in filmbiz, who are eager to cast him in their films, he is already a star. Although his debut film, Himalayputra, didn't exactly rack up big bucks, it has put him on the Bollywood map with a vengeance.- Here comes the hotstepper, Akshaye Khanna.

He has Penchant for dreams. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Akshaye is the son of tough guy of 70's Vinod Khanna. Akshaye did his schooling in Bombay International and went to Lovedale school in Ooty, and graduation from HR college. This innocent looking face came into industry at the age of 21. His debut film was Himalaya Putra produced by his father Vinod Khanna. The film flopped but Akshaye's performance was appreciated and he became heart throb of many girls. His second film was J.P. Dutta's Border which is super hit film of 1997 where he played a role of Second Lt. Dharamveer Singh who died on the border of Longewala. This guy portrayed this character so well that it created a deep impression in the heart of the masses.

We live in an age when the allure of many leading actors is all on the surface, with a bland, symmetrical, conventionally handsome face offering no hint of an intriguing mind or a complex history. Akshaye Khanna, on the other hand, is something else. Behind his teen-idol facade lies the soul of a thinking man. A talented actor, he knows his craft, and is very serions about his work. Indeed a rare quality amongst the current breed of newcomers. He may be a very instinctual actor but he also has an exacting technique. He likes to get everything right. He's also extremely attractive as an artiste. And quite remarkable and unique for a newcomer. He is one of the best actors to hit Bollywood in recent times - not to mention the most handsome, intriguing, talented and sexy.

Even before he has become a megastar which a lot of people feel is merely a matter of tlme, Akshaye has developed a mystique. He's an extremely private person. The most remarkable thing is he's savvy enough to recognize the danger of overexposure. Therefore, he's cleverly spaced out his interviews to avoid such a happening. What's more he refuses to let anyone into his private and personal matters. He is so damn nonchalant. He's a guy moving comfortably and gracefully in his own mystique, that's the sort of movie star he is. But he's- very distant, very removed and that adds strength to his character. He seems like a private public man going by his reservedness, but for him fame is no burden. We're talking about a movie star in the grand manner, an elusive presence. That probably sums up his screen charisma, which is proving to be a powerful box-office draw.

No one in recent memory has created such a stir with his looks and talent together. Teenage girls swoon over horses and ballet dancers and rebels. Akshaye is somehow all those things. The girls just love him. Wherever he goes, hysteria breaks out. The best indicator of the female public's growing obsession with him. He talks shyly but his body language bespeaks immense self-confidence and that is what draws hordes of women towards him. But he seems to pay little attention to the effect he has on them. For an average guy off screen, he has such a powerful presence on screen and that's what is very alluring. He was the one whom thousands of young teenagers went to see in Himalayputra and Border, war epic, where he played a young and charming yet doomed soldier. Clearly, we're in the grip of Akshaye-mania. So it's no surprise to hear a topnotch director say,"Everyone wants to work with Akshaye."

Self-belief has been Akshaye's strongest asset. He never worried about how tough it would be to break away from father, Vinod Khanna's shadow that loomed large over him. He went about his work without letting the thought haunt him. And he's emerged as one of the few star offsprings to create an identity of his own,right from his debut film itself. Thus today, while his obsession may not be to reach the heights of stardom, Bollywood is betting that audiences will keep watching him for years to come. Becoming a star is a time that's diffcult. But Akshaye gives you the feeling he's going to stay standing. He's going to keep renewing and growing. One feels he can transcend any generation he's in. He gives a sense of how rare such staying power is.

In his real life, he's a complete normal guy. With at least one big difference, Akshaye has it-star quality. When he walks in the energy in the room changes. Yet there's something really amazing about him, his generosity of spirit. Everyone who enters his orbit is treated with attentive, low-key courtesy. His piercing eyes constantly betray vestiges of melancholy. When I met him, I thought, "Well, he'll be yet another spoilt star son". But he's really an exceptional person. Even though he carries a hint of arrogance, he has no ego. I don't know how, but he doesn't. Although in conversaton he's witty, bright, interesting and interested, he seems like a rather reluctant inverview. Speaking with journalists is a part of the filmmaking process that he does not exactly enjoy, even though he understands that it is a necessary part. Elusive and aloof and vaguely resembling his ebullient father, like him, he does not suffer interviews gladly. But once collared, he's affable - if guardedly so. He's a good talker. He involves you. He intrigues you. He uses his hands and stares you down. He doesn't go too far or spell everything out. He makes you ask questions.

Being a star son always raises expectations which add to the pressure as soon as the film is launched. Did that unnerve him?"Naturally," he confesses. "Being Vinod Khanna's son was enough to pile on the pressure. It was obvious that people were going to draw comparisons between me and my dad and I couldn't let them down."

He is also quite charged about his next home production titled, Made In India, which incidentally has dad Vinod Khanna making his debut as a director. Besides, there's also the possibility that he'll be sharing the lead credits with brother Rahul Khanna in it. "The project is still in the planning stages," he reveals. "Dad's working on it and I know he'll put his best into the project like he did for Himalayputra. Having seen his involvement and dedication, I'm sure he'll make a fantastic director. Anyway, things have yet to be finalised so there's no use talking too much about the film now. "In the same breath, he confides that he would love to work with directors like, "Mani Rathnam and Shekhar Kapoor, who are simply amazing.

Akshaye's latest release is Dil Chahta Hai which bagged him the Best Supporting Actor Award by Filmfare 2002. Other films like, Reema Rakeshnath Mohhabat with the beauty queen Madhuri Dixit. Ad-man Kailash Surendranath making his feature film debut with Love You Hamesha. And not to miss Rishi Kapoor's directorial debut with Aa Ab Laut Chale. This talented actor will surely prove himself opposite the establish actress and will come in the lot of superstars within no time.

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