Birthday special: Do you know Akshay Kumar has acted in a Kannada movie?

There’s no denying the fact that Akshay Kumar is one of the biggest and most popular names in the Hindi film industry. The mass hero enjoys a strong fan following due to his striking screen presence, grand reel image and intelligent selection of roles. He has starred in several box office hits and proved that he is a force to be reckoned with

While almost everyone knows about his contribution to Bollywood, not many are aware of the fact that he once acted in a Kannada movie. In 1993, he starred alongside the legendary Vishnuvardhan in the action-packed Vishnu Vijaya, adding a new dimension to his career.

The film, which was shot in Hindi as Ashaant, featured the ‘Khiladi’ in the role of a cop and hit the right notes with his effective presentation. While the Kannada version emerged as a hit, the Hindi one did not do well at the box office.

The cast included Pankaj Dheer, Ashvini Bhave and Mamta Kulkarni.

Also read: Grateful to COVID-19 frontline workers for saving lives: Akshay Kumar

Following Vishnuvardhan’s death, Akshay had recalled working with him in Vishnu Vijaya and highlighted that the experience made him realise that ‘Dada’ was a bigger star than he could ever be. Post Vishnu Vijaya, Akshay decided to focus on his Bollywood career and refrained from working in Kannada movies. In 2018, he returned to South Indian cinema when he played the antagonist in the Tamil biggie 2.0, featuring Rajinikanth in the lead

Coming to the present, Akshay is awaiting the release of the Rohit Shetty-directed Sooryavanshi. The film was originally supposed to arrive in theatres in March but that did not happen due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is likely to release in November.

He will also be seen in the eagerly-awaited Laxmmi Bomb, which has been directed by Raghava Lawrence and is a remake of the Tamil film Kanchana. The film is slated to release directly of Disney+ Hotstar, skipping the theatrical route. He also has Bell Bottom and Prithviraj in his kitty.