Article Updated 08 February, 2004 08:05:27 PM IST   Akshaye Khanna By Our Correspondent ©2004 Bollyvista.com   A typical south-Mumbai youngster, Vinod Khanna's younger son, Akshaye, 5'11", made his movie debut at 23 with his father's 'Himalay Putra'. The movie did not fare well but Akshaye was instantly lapped up by all and sundry for the immense promise he held. He even featured opposite his father's co-star Madhuri Dixit in Rakesh Nath's 'Mohabbat' with Sanjay Kapoor. When none of his initial movies fared too well, J.P. Dutta's 'Border', in which he played an Army Officer, came as a messiah bringing him the critical and commercial success he was looking for. His performance stood above the performance delivered by the rest of the cast. Akshaye went through a bad phase in between and was virtually out of the work when films like Rakesh Nath's 'Mohabbat', Dinesh Gandhi's 'Laawaris', Rishi Kapoor's 'Aa Ab Laut Chalen', Romu Sippy's 'Kudrat' and Priyadarsan's 'Doli Saja Ke Rakhna', from which he had great expectations, flopped at the turnstiles. Ad man Kailash Surendranath's 'Love You Hamesha' with Sonali Bendre and Riya Sen got stuck and subsequently shelved. Moreover, his introverted nature and attitude problem didn't find him a place in many producers' good books either. With Subhash Ghai's 'Taal' coming in, the situation improved only marginally for Akshaye. But after a long hiatus of several years, Akshaye finally bounced back with Farhan Akhtar's 'Dil Chahta Hai' in which he was pitted opposite the beauty emeritus, Dimple Kapadia. Thereafter, there has been no looking back for him. He had Abbas-Mustan's hit, 'Humraaz' (with Bobby Deol and Amisha Patel), which saw his market soaring. His next release 'Deewangee' (with Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar) also fared reasonably well at the box-office, as did his post-'Deewangee' flick, 'Hungama' with Priyadarsan. Recently, he was even seen in the crowd in J.P. Dutta's 'LoC'. Over the last few years, Akshaye's career graph has been zooming upwards but the man still refuses to go on a signing spree! Akshaye has always been different (in the true sense of the word) from the rest of the actors' brigade - reserved, introverted and extremely selective about the work he takes on. He hasn't signed any film of late except Venus' 'Hulchul' (with Kareena Kapoor) being directed by Priyadarsan. He also has plans of turning producer and has a script ready on which he has been actively working. On the personal front, he's rock-steady with his old friend cum actress Tara Sharma. So that's Akshaye for you - perfectly set, personally and professionally!   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/36/1832