AK Live Wire

How superstar Akshay Kumar became an invincible force of nature

- Rishi Majumder

The September sun is blazing above India’s resident superhero, Akshay Kumar. It seems to fuel him in mysterious ways that only super heroes can fathom. He is at Aamby Valley City, all wholesome green goodness, filled with all the frivolous yet necessary high-life accoutrements. While the world awakens, Kumar has gotten up, and done everything you aspire to do—twice. Well, sort of. Today, for instance, he spent the morning trekking, zip-lining, and jet-skiing with his son Aarav (14) and daughter Nitara (4). It’s probably no big deal for Kumar, who is a sixth degree black belt in Kuyukai Gojuryu Karate, and has a widely reported exercise regime that mixes swimming, martial arts, parkour, and yoga on a daily basis. Yet, Kumar’s very proud of not having eight-pack abs. For him, fitness isn’t about body-building. It’s a way of life.

Kumar’s rise to the peak of his career is punctuated with over a hundred films. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world’s 10 th highest paid actor. Between June 1, 2015, and June 1, 2016, he earned a cool $31.5 million, making him the second highest paid actor in India (after Shah Rukh Khan). Perhaps this has made him take the risk towards doing slightly different, non-mainstreamish roles (Special 26, Rustom, Airlift) along with the dance-and-frolic-with-hot-women-and-save the-world stereotypes. When I bring this up, Kumar and his wife, best-selling author and actor, Twinkle Khanna, aka Mrs Funnybones, begin to giggle. “It’s time for you to do things you enjoy, and use your skills to the maximum,” offers Khanna as an explanation to both of us. “Yes,” says Kumar. “And time to do some good cinema.”