New Delhi: Akshay Kumar is one of the leading actors in Bollywood. He is regarded as one of the actors in this industry who works the hardest. He has acted in more than a hundred films and has received multiple honours, such as two Filmfare Awards and the National Film Award for Best Actor. There have been many ups and downs on his road to success. People of all ages are inspired and motivated by Kumar’s success story. Anyone can succeed if they are passionate and driven, as demonstrated by Akshay Kumar, who rose from a waiter to become one of Bollywood’s top actors.

Early Life:

Kumar was born into a Punjabi family in Amritsar, Punjab, to Hari Om and Aruna Bhatia. An army officer was his father. Sports piqued Kumar’s interest from an early age. He pursued higher education at the Guru Nanak Khalsa College following his high school graduation. Sadly, he dropped out of college because he had no interest in studying. Kumar stated that he wanted to be an actor in response to his father’s question about his career goals.

Struggles:

He always had a strong interest in martial arts. He left the family with very little financial support and moved to Bangkok to follow his dreams. Akshay Kumar’s family did not provide him with much financial support. He worked at several odd jobs to make money. He began his career as a server in Thailand before being promoted to chef. It was quite difficult for him to stay motivated when everyone around him was speaking a language he didn’t understand.

After that, he returned to India to earn a Taekwondo black belt. He returned to Bangkok once more to pursue his martial arts studies while working as a chef and waiter. In the interim, he managed several odd jobs. Following his time in Thailand, Kumar worked in hotels in Dhaka, travel agencies in Kolkata, and a Kundan jewellery store in Delhi. When he got back to Bombay, he started teaching martial arts. He suffered because of his inability to find a secure job at this time.

Stepping into Bollywood:

Akshay Kumar was suggested to model by the father of one of his students. This ultimately resulted in him being given a modelling job for a furniture store. Kumar decided to pursue a career in modelling after realising that he could make more money in the first two days of filming than he would have in a whole month. For shooting his first portfolio, he assisted a photographer for eighteen months without receiving payment. He also performed background dancer roles in several films.

He had to miss his flight to Bangalore for an ad shoot early in the morning. Feeling low about himself, he took his portfolio to a movie studio. Producer Pramod Chakravarthy cast Kumar in the lead role of the film Deedar that evening. However, the movie did not fare well at the box office. In 1991, Akshay Kumar’s journey to success began with rejection and setbacks. He starred in Khiladi, directed by Abbas Mustan in 1992, which is regarded as his career breakthrough.

He never stopped or slowed down after that. Whatever the obstacle, he put in a lot of effort in his work. He is still one of the busiest performers even after 25 years in the business. Akshay Kumar’s journey from waiter to leading man in Bollywood and addition to Forbes’ “Top 10 Highest Paid Actors” is an incredibly motivating one.