Like the proverbial tortoise, Akki has inched towards the winning post. There were changes, transformations and most importantly growth. He changed his name from Rajiv Bhatia to Akshay Kumar, a la Dilip/Rajendra/Manoj Kumar in the anticipation of success.

Instead he had to deal with a torrent of embarrassing films like Mr Bond, Dancer, Ashaant, Kayda Kanoon, Zakhmi Dil, Zulmi and Elaan, which only confirmed his reputation of a wooden actor.

But, as mentioned earlier on, positive attitude along with patience, hard work and some clever selection of projects finally turned the tide in Akshay's favour. His performances worn tremendous recognition while his movies made ridiculous amount of money.

Bollywood's Khiladi turned Kinng turns 41 today. (Although his chiseled looks and lean frame make that a tad hard to believe.)

rediff.com celebrates the gummy superstar and profiles the landmark films, which don't necessarily have to be his best performances or major hits, in his 17-year-old career.

Text: Sukanya Verma | Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar

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