I can cook because my life depended on it when I lived in Thailand. Either I learnt cooking, or I learnt how it felt to starve. I chose cooking.
— Akshay Kumar
It's my goal to make martial arts compulsory for girls in school. In China, you have to do two years of martial arts' training without which you cannot get a graduation degree.
My dad was a Punjabi from Amritsar, and my mom is a Punjabi from Kashmir. My dad was a soldier in the Indian Army.
The day I take either my body or my work for granted will be the day you hear that I've smashed every inch of myself to pieces.
My love for sports will never die. I love martial arts and I want to promote it in whichever way I can. I am a fighter first, then an actor.
I like working with south Indian directors because they are very disciplined. They visualize their entire story and screenplay in their heads even before they start shooting, which I respect. They finish their work on time. Being a disciplinarian myself, this suits my style.
No one has got close enough to use or abuse me, and even if they did, I wouldn't get too emotional about it. The only thing I ever get emotional about is my family. I am kind to everyone but I trust no one. That keeps me from getting hurt.
For a guy who used to steal watches on the streets of Chandni Chowk for kicks, I surely think my success at the age of 22 was pretty early!
I never feel any pressure about a film. What is meant to happen will happen. I have seen failure as well as success several times.
Why bother with Google when I have a wife who knows everything about everything!
I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.
When you taste super-success after tasting super-failure, there is huge relief.
I have never believed in being part of any one group or camp.
It feels wonderful to be go back to the 1940s and recreate the whole era through my clothes, voice and body language. I am tired of playing the larger-than-life hero.
I'd never do a film that would hurt anyone's sentiments, be it Indian or not.
I'm glad that my films have been consistently faring well rather than one stray Friday!
I do not stick to rules when cooking. I rely on my imagination.
If you are in Bangkok, you will find that people there will never speak to you without joining their hands. It's not that they are speaking to you like that because you are tourists. They even speak at their home like that.
I savour the adulation and love I have been getting from my fans and the blessings of elders in my family.
I always check my harness before I do a stunt; I test-drive the cars I have to race or explode; I'm present at all pyrotechnical rehearsals; and I walk through everything step-by-step. No man should put their life in someone else's hands unless they have covered their own safety from all angles.
Ever since I started my career, I have been busy with four to five releases a year. I enjoy being busy.
I'm an athletic actor. I'm known for my action; I'm a guy who does my own stunts on screen.
Youth is a lifestyle; it's not a blessing from God. If we treat our bodies as if they are not the most precious things we possess, then obviously we will show wear and tear. We're like a good pair of jeans. If we take care of them, they'll remain classic forever, but if we batter and abuse them they'll look like tattered old rags.
I do not hold God ransom to my success; whatever is his will is my way. I stand by moments; I do not stand by time.
On every birthday, I ask my wife, 'What would you like this year?' and her instant reply is, 'Diamonds! Diamonds! Diamonds!' I'm always living in hope that one day she'll say she just wants me!
Journalists ask me all the time, 'Akshay, do you believe in the numbers game?' My standard response: 'I can't count, that's why I have producers and accountants who calculate for me. As long as I have them in my life, I don't need to worry about numbers!'
There's absolutely nothing irrational about me; insane, yes, irrational, no. But my dumbest fear would be spinning in the magic tea cups. Who the hell wants to pay to spin around like a bent yoyo for laughs?
I'm not hungry for success. I am only hungry for good work, and that is how it is with most superstars. Every day I tell myself how fortunate I am to be where I am.
I savour the adulation and love I have been getting from my fans and the blessings of elders in my family. Fourteen years have given me a lot and I can't thank God and the industry enough.
I'll do at least one action film every year because of my fans. This is my promise to them.
Playing a prisoner of war trapped in Pakistan for three years was a novelty for me. We made sure that we didn't talk about India versus Pakistan but about the emotions of people on both sides and how terrorism affects us all.
It takes two hands to clap! I cannot be solely blamed for what happened in my relationships! If things soured, it happened because of both parties. Not just me!
I have a great time cooking and eating Thai green chicken curry.
I joined Khalsa College just opposite Don Bosco in class XI, but soon I quit studies and was sent to Bangkok by my father to learn martial arts, as that is the only place we could afford given that I would also work there to support my training.
Always think twice before you decide to do anything for a film. It may seem like a career-changing idea, but think of your family and your future before doing anything risky. Train properly, because looking strong and being strong are two different things.
Superstars come and go. I want to make sure I am always a producer's actor. I may be refused to be called a great actor but I have never troubled any of my producers in my life. Honesty always catches the camera, and that is what my strength is.
I have earned enough money in my life. When I started my career, for about 10 years, I told myself I want to make money. Now, I just want to do different roles.
Work is work, but family is for life. That's what really matters to me.
I'm a realist. Where I come from, 'phenomenons' don't exist. I'm from a land where people make mistakes and try again, harder, faster; where negativity is not an option.
I enjoy the risk of bungee-jumping. I used to pay money to do it. Now, it's the opposite. I get paid to do action.
It drives me nuts how I rely on my wife for everything. I can't imagine a day without her!
I could break bricks with my hands when I was 12.
I hate partying. If I'm forced to go to a party or a social gathering, I go in at 9:30 and leave at 10 P.M.
People want their actors to do comedy, too. They don't want any comedians next to the actor. They want one solo hero and want to see everything in him.
I see the friends I made over the years who have become family today, people I became acquainted with who have achieved so much in their lives. They taught me something with each meeting.
Controversies are a package deal in this industry. You just have to understand that and accept it.
I'm glad that I'm being acclaimed as an actor. Today, when my hard work has paid off I can chill out about it.
I have finally become a husband and I am genuinely enjoying every moment of it.
