They say things which can’t be cured should be endured. Our Khiladi Kumar seems to be facing the same situation with respect to Khans for latter get more attention than him despite his super star status.

Akshay Kumar is a big star but it has always been the three Khans that are counted ahead of him in the top five. And looks like Akki is getting accustomed to it. “It’s all good; Kumar’s are used to Khans getting more attention. You aren’t called Kings for nothing,” says Akshay addressing Salman Khan.

Even though Salman and Akshay are in friendly terms, there have always been reports that Salman is not too fond of Akshay. Salman never liked the fact that Katrina worked too often with Akshay. However, with Salman and Katrina making it official that they have broken up, probably Salman and Akshay are back to square.

Producer Sajid Nadiadwala is all set to announce three major projects and each will have big have names – Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan. The total budget for the three projects is Rs.150 Crores.

After the box office success of ‘Housefull’ and the positive buzz surrounding his forthcoming ‘Anjaana Anjaani’, Nadiadwala has decided to make more films.

One of these is a sequel to ‘Housefull’ directed by Sajid Khan starring Akshay. Then then there is ‘Kick’ with Salman and lastly an untitled film with Saif. All the three projects will be made under his banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

"Sajid Nadiadwala has the knack to recognise out-of-the-ordinary storylines and talents and his belief that no opportunity is beyond reach ensures the cash registers ringing at the box office. He works with the best in the industry since he’s of the belief that the audiences deserve only the best," said a source close to the filmmaker.

For now, the producer looks forward to his forthcoming film ‘Anjaana Anjaani’. Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, the film will release Sep 24.

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Akshay Kumar is aggressively promoting his forthcoming film Khatta Meetha on the small screen. After Star Plus’ Sasural Genda Phool, the star will make an appearance as a celebrity guest on Colors’ kids dance reality show Chak Dhoom Dhoom.

The actor will attend the finale July 24 where top four finalists — Piyush Bhagat, Tejaswani Behera, Sparsh Shrivastav and Gauri – will compete with each other for the title.

Pony Verma, Ahmed Khan, Bosco-Caesar and Saroj Khan are the judging the show and Parvesh Rana and Chhote Miyan star Saloni Dain are hosting it.

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Actor Akshay Kumar has ruled out the possibility of his wife Twinkle Khanna returning to movies in the near future.

“I don’t think she is interested in doing films. At least not in the near future,” Akshay, who was in the capital to promote his forthcoming comedy “Khatta Meetha” that also stars Southern actress Trisha, told reporters here Friday.

Last seen in “Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega”, Twinkle retired from the film industry after marrying Akshay in 2001. She has been doing interior designing since then.

Most recently Twinkle was seen in a television commercial for a mobile handset.

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Akshay Kumar is a live wire on his film sets. Sources present on the sets of Khatta Meetha say that this time around, Rajpal Yadav bore the brunt of Akki’s jokes quite often while shooting for this film. Apparently, some assistant had a rather cool phone which had a unique feature of changing a male voice to a female one.

And once they discovered this, Akki and gang started playing childish pranks. The Khiladi started bombarding Rajpal with calls saying he was a girl from Dubai, who wanted to marry Rajpal. The comedian was harangued because he is a happily-married man. But Akki just wouldn’t give up for a good two hours. When Rajpal discovered who was harassing him he could do nothing. After all Akshay is the hero of the film; and when the hero pulls your leg, you have to suffer in silence.

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Akshay Kumar surely knows how to balance his personal and professional life — he used his free time while shooting for new movie "Patiala House" playing cricket with son Aarav.

"Whenever he got free time during his shoots for ’Patiala House’, he would play cricket and often Aarav would participate in the game. And Aarav would always beat Akshay at cricket," said a source.

An expert at martial arts and French sport Parkour, Akshay has also started training Aarav in these.

"Aarav can even climb walls like a pro and can do the summersault even though he’s just nine years old… In fact, he’s getting better by the day even in martial arts," said the source.

Directed by Nikhil Advani, "Patiala House" stars Anushka Sharma and Rishi Kapoor.

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If there is one man in Bollywood who is on a roll, then, it has to be him. We are indeed talking about the one and only Akshay Kumar. After having being chosen as the brand ambassador for a million products, Akki is all set to lend his ’Phase Value’, this time round to the electronics major LG.

The confirmed sources said, "Akki was always an immediate choice for the said brand, after Abhishek Bachchan." Rumors have it that Abhi’s contract was not renewed because he insisted on having his better half Aishwarya Rai as a part of the deal, which LG officials were not too forthcoming about. That’s the reason they chose Akshay over Abhishek."

One may recall that, just a few days back, LG had signed up John Abraham, Abhay Deol and Genelia as their Brand Ambassadors for their mobile range. With Akshay now at the helm of things, LG definitely seems to be high on Bollywood power.

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By now its common knowledge that Vipul Shah is all set to take a trip down the retro lane with his Akshay Kumar- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Action Replayy. However, what did catch us by surprise was when we saw this picture of Akshay in a complete retro rock star look from Action Replayy.

Apparently, Akki’s look in this particular dance number is modeled on the lines of John Travolta’s in the cult classic Grease. Akshay, who is a huge John Travolta fan, was more than happy to step into this get-up for this special song sequence with Ash. The duo thoroughly enjoyed practicing the dance steps of the disco era for this particular song.

An elated Akki, who thoroughly enjoys listening to retro music, said, "The 70s was full of energy, that’s the reason why retro is hip. There is something about the fashion and music of that era which makes it so funky even today and perhaps it will always be that way."

With Akshay and Ash bringing together a sizzling chemistry in this electric number, filmmaker Vipul Shah must be surely grinning from ear to ear. After all, it looks like he has a winner on hands.

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He is a man, who has definitely not just changed the rules of the game, but also has rewritten it, in his own terms. He is none other than Bollywood’s very own Akshay Kumar. He is one of the Numero Uno stars that Bollywood can easily back on due to his mass appeal.

No wonder then, not just the filmmakers, but also the ad fraternity guys are queuing up at his doorstep to sign him on. After having endorsed a million products including the likes of Thums Up, Levis, X-Box 360 etc…, the superstar will now be seen endorsing wireless solutions provider Micromax.

According to Bollywood Hungama’s confirmed sources, Akshay has been signed by the said telecom company in accordance to his ’instant connect’ with the classes and masses alike. The source also added that knowing Akki’s ’market status’, the said company has shelled out a ’macro’ bomb of an amount as Akki’s remuneration.

No wonder they say, ’ Make hay…while the sun shines’! What say, Akki baba!

Akshay Kumar is all set to play the game of cricket, and interestingly he will have none other than Wasim Akram as his coach! Well, we are talking about Akshay’s upcoming flick ‘Patiala House’, which will see the actor playing a cricketer from London and Cricket ace Wasim Akram will help him to pull off the role perfectly.

The cricket sequences in the film, according to director Nikhil Advani, will be shot at the best and biggest stadiums of London. "Akshay will be shown playing at the World Cup. We will shoot the cricket match at the Lord`s and Oval cricket grounds in London," says filmmaker Advani.

It’s been revealed that Akshay will be trained by one of the world`s greatest fast bowlers – Wasim Akram, who has been roped in after much persuasion.

Nikhil says, "We were adamant that Akshay would play a world-class cricketer and that too, a bowler. We`ve never had a hero who`s a bowler. They are always batting on the cricket field. There`s almost a ballet-like choreographic precision when a hero is captured bowling on camera. I think bowling is a far more intricate exercise than batting."

A lot of other legendary cricketers including Imran Khan will also be roped in to make appearances in ‘Patiala House’. Confirming the news, Nikhil said, "A substantial part of our budget is going into hiring these cricketers for the climax game. We want the game to look as real as it can get."

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Akshay Kumar is planning a big charity event to raise funds to build an old age home in Toronto in 2010 with the help of his friend Ajay Virmani who’s a businessman.

Akshay has been associated with various charity events in Toronto. He told his best friend, businessman Ajay Virmani — who owns Cargojet Airways, the largest Canadian cargo airlines — that he wanted to host a fundraiser to build a home for senior citizens. "Talks are on and the charity event will be held some time early next year. Akshay wants it to be a place for the elderly to feel at home."

A source close to the actor says, "On his various trips to his home in Toronto, Akki saw the plight of old men and women, especially those who had been brought by Indians and been abandoned there, and was deeply disturbed and wanted to do something for them."

"Akshay is planning to host a charity event in 2010," confirms Virmani from Toronto, "He has also helped raise a lot of money for Canadian hospitals including one for sick children. Last year, he got half a million dollars for making an appearance at the Trillion Hospital but he donated the amount to the hospital."

He continues, "A lot of Indian people bring their parents with them but don’t take care of them. They are dependent on their children and often end up becoming babysitters. They have no life of their own. Akshay wants them to have a place they can call their own."

Ajay first met Akshay when the actor came to Canada for the shooting of Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi in 1995. He says that the Khiladi is still remained the simple, down-to-earth guy he was when he first met him. Notes Virmani, "He calls me his Godfather, and to me, he is like a son. Our families have become close over the years."

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Akshay ‘Khiladi’ Kumar, who will run with the Olympic torch in Toronto on December 17, is a worried man these days. Although the actor is ecstatic over the honour, a baseless fear seems to be overpowering him.

He fears that he will drop the Olympic torch while carrying it. Before leaving for Toronto, the ‘Action Kinng’ said, “As I am getting ready, I just keep telling myself one thing over and over again, `No matter what happens Akshay, don`t drop that torch. Naak kat jayegi.` It would be so embarrassing. I would never be allowed to visit Canada.”

Akshay wanted to take along his wife Twinkle Khanna and son Aarav, but couldn’t due to his tight schedule. "It`s just for a day so I somehow managed to squeeze it in my schedule. But it would be too tiring for Aarav. If I was going for 5-6 days I would have taken my wife and son along."

"Only when I go home in the night do I allow myself the luxury to feel tired. On December 17, I run with the torch then I return to Canada next year to see some of the Olympic sports. I wouldn`t miss it for the world," the actor further stated.

On November 16, the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, had handed over the Olympian torch to Akshay in Mumbai. "When I was given the torch some kids came running to just to touch that torch. I can`t tell you what a proud moment that was. I remember, as a child I used to watch sportsmen carrying the torch on our black-and-white television," said a euphoric Akshay.

Don’t let fears plague you, Akshay. Be a sport!

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has referred to Akshay Kumar in an interview to the international edition of Harper’s Bazaar as India’s answer to Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.Says a source close to Akshay, "The premier referred to the actor as B-Town’s answer to Brad Pitt as he felt that Akshay has the same charm and star appeal."

When quizzed about being compared to Pitt, Akshay quips, "I feel like someone has taken my Porsche and replaced it with a Ferrari. It’s the kind of compliment that makes you feel fabulous but you can’t show it. You are just supposed to nod your head and say thank-you."The Canadian PM was in Mumbai recently and met Akki, the sole Indian torchbearer for the Winter Olympics to be held in Vancouver in February.

Akshay has also being voted as the sexiest man alive this year by People magazine. Does he feel sexy? "Are you kidding me? It takes a woman to make a man feel sexy. I have never been able to look at myself in the mirror and say, ’Wow! Akshay you are looking hot today’. I have very low self-esteem. I only feel sexy when my wife looks up at me and squeezes my hand with pride. That’s when I feel desirable."

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Movie: Blue

Director: Anthony D’Souza

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Rahul Dev, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif

Blue, the most awaited movie of the year – with its canvas as huge as the ocean – comes alive on screen this Friday. Like every biggie, this one also comes with the baggage of monumental expectations. With tremendous hype surrounding it, the inescapable question that crosses your mind is, will Blue live up to those colossal expectations?

Let me keep it short – you haven’t watched anything like this on the Hindi screen before. Never ever!

It requires courage, willpower, fortitude, vision and, of course, the financial backing to accomplish a project of this magnitude. And debutante director Anthony D’Souza puts his skills and the financial resources to best use. Blue is not merely a stunning looking film, it’s also a well-structured film. Most importantly, it’s a solid entertainer that packs in so much in those 1.58 hours.

Blue is set in the sun-soaked white sand beaches of Bahamas. Sagar [Sanjay Dutt] is a simpleton, while his friend Aarav [Akshay Kumar] is a rich, ambitious businessman.

Sagar’s brother Sameer aka Sam [Zayed Khan] has inadvertently managed to rankle the mafia in Bangkok [Rahul Dev]. He flees Bangkok and arrives in Bahamas. But the dangerous men reach Bahamas, too. Sagar is the sole person who can bail him out from this crisis, but to save his brother, Sagar has to wrestle with the ghost of his dead father.

If you’re a die-hard moviegoer, you’d draw parallels with a lot of international projects [especially The Deep] that were set in the ocean. In Bollywood, flashes of the Dharmendra-Jeetendra starrer Samraat cross your mind instantaneously, but comparing the two is akin to comparing chalk and cheese.

Blue grabs your attention from its opening titles itself. The marine life, which you may’ve watched on National Geographic Channel or Animal Planet, comes alive in all splendour at the start itself.

The story is uncomplicated and Anthony D’Souza garnishes it beautifully. If the aquatic life keeps your eyes wide open, the action sequences are sure to make your jaws drop to your knees. The bike chase at the start, yet another chase subsequently, the chase soon after the interval [atop a running train] is simply astounding.

Anthony’s expertise comes to the fore in several sequences. One sequence that needs to be singled out is when Sanju narrates the tragic past, how he was responsible for his father’s death. It’s simply incredible!

Major portions of the film have been filmed in the ocean and you can’t stop admiring and appreciating the enormous contribution of the underwater cinematographer [Pete Zuccarini]. The lighting in those sequences deserves special mention. Also, the underwater sequences, which feature aquatic life like puffer fish, stingrays and sharks, hold tremendous appeal. Cinematography [Laxman Utekar] is gorgeous.

On the flip side, the climax could’ve had more impact. The villain’s track looks clichéd, but you tend to overlook the minor aberration since the film never falls prey to mediocrity.

Anthony D’Souza is a director to watch. This film has style as well as substance. Also, it requires courage and conviction to think out of the box and most importantly, execute the material with panache. There’s not much scope for music in an action thriller, yet A.R. Rahman’s score suits the requirements. The Kylie Minogue track, Chiggy Wiggy, is already popular. Sanju and Lara’s romantic track, Aaj Dil, is sensuous. The song at the end credits, Fiqrana, has a lot of energy.

Sound design [Resul Pookutty] is fantastic. Action scenes [James D Bomalick and R P Yadav] are a treat and, in fact, one of the mainstays of the film. Dialogues [Mayur Puri] are effective, while the screenplay [Anthony D’Souza and Jasmine D’Souza] is well thought-out, especially towards the second hour.

Sanjay Dutt carries his part well, although he looks very well-fed in some scenes. Akshay Kumar steals the show with a sterling performance. This would easily classify amongst his best works. Zayed Khan is highly competent. This, despite the fact that he’s sharing the screen space with two hugely experienced actors.

Lara Dutta has never looked so good before. Though the story revolves around the guys, you can’t overlook Lara’s small but significant contribution to the film. Katrina Kaif [special appearance] looks gorgeous and performs exceedingly well. The feminine charm [at the start specifically] would send the youth into a frenzy. Rahul Dev is first-rate. Kabir Bedi is hardly there.

On the whole, Blue has style as well as substance. The film has everything going in its favour, right from its incredible star cast to the superb action scenes to the hitherto unseen marine life to the tremendous hype and hoopla. At the box-office, Blue will strike like a hurricane in the festive week. It should set new benchmarks in days to come.

Final word? Go, grab a ticket, if you haven’t booked one yet. This under-sea treasure hunt is a kickass film. A must-see for all those who love adventure flicks.

Rating: Four out of five stars