While his career had fluctuated commercially, his mainstream success soared in 2007 with four consecutive box-office hits; it was consistent until a short period of decline between 2009 and 2011, after which he reinforced his status with several films, including Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Holiday (2014).

He also launched the TV reality show Dare 2 Dance in 2014 and his off-screen work includes ownership of the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League.

He lived and grew up in the Chandni Chowk neighbourhood of Delhi and later he moved to Bombay (present-day Mumbai) when his father left the Indian Army to work as an accountant for UNICEF.

[27] After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India,[28] he studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand, where he learned Muay Thai and worked as a chef and waiter.

[29] After Thailand, Kumar went to work in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in a travel agency, in Dhaka in a hotel as a chef[30] and Delhi where he sold Kundan jewellery.

[33] Kumar made his first screen appearance with film Aaj under his birth name 'Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia', in a bit role as a Karate instructor.

[39][40] A review in The Indian Express called the film "an engrossing thriller" and described Kumar as impressive in the lead part, noting his physical appearance, strong screen presence, and commending him for being "perfectly at ease".

[52] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote in a year-end review, "It was Akshay Kumar in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi who packed the aisles, no doubt about it...

He shoved his hair back in a slick little ponytail, much like Steven Seagal, wore ankle-length great coats, wrestled with the fearsome Undertaker, and walked away with the film.

He played the role as a blind man in Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Shaarang Dev Pandit-directed heist film Aankhen, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Aditya Pancholi, Sushmita Sen and Paresh Rawal.

[87][88] In 2004 Kumar starred in Rajkumar Santoshi's action drama thriller Khakee alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai.

According to the directors, Aitraaz was inspired by National Basketball Association player Kobe Bryant (who was accused of rape by a fan);[99] and the film's development began when they read about his sexual-assault case in the newspapers.

[104] Vishal D'Souza wrote "Akshay shoulders an author-backed role, carrying more of the film's emotional baggage though he is distinctly uncomfortable in the soppy-weepy scenes.

[108][109] Kumar's first release of 2006 was Rajkumar Santoshi-directed drama Family – Ties of Blood followed by Suneel Darshan's Mere Jeevan Saathi and Raj Kanwar's Humko Deewana Kar Gaye.

[110] The same year, he led the Heat 2006 world tour along with fellow stars Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.

[115] 2007 proved to be Kumar's most successful year during his career in the industry, and as described by box office analysts, "probably the best ever recorded by an actor, with four outright hits and no flops.

"[121] Kumar's chemistry with lead actress Katrina Kaif also generated immense appreciation, with Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India describing their pairing as "refreshing.

Reacting to Kumar's backing out from the film's promotion Kunder tweeted "A true leader takes responsibility for his team and leads them through thick and thin.

Kumar said of Pacino's response: "A touch of appreciation is always held dearly in an actor's arms, even if it's from the simplest of people like our beloved spot boys.

[198] He later made his Tamil cinema debut in the science fiction thriller 2.0, a standalone sequel to the 2010 film Enthiran, co-starring Rajinikanth, in which he played an evil ornithologist named Pakshirajan.

The film is about the story of scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission, which marked India's first interplanetary expedition.

[209][210] His only release in 2020 was the horror comedy Laxmii, directed by Raghava Lawrence, an official remake of the Tamil film Kanchana opposite Kiara Advani.

The Hindu wrote "The film's engaging powerful anti-dowry sentiments, along with Akshay's brilliant comic timing, ensures that there is enough to keep the audience tied for two hours.

"[229] The Indian Express rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Do the filmmakers truly believe that such low-rent family dramas, with their uneasy mix of humour and crassness".

[231] The Hindustan Times wrote "Akshay Kumar got a golden opportunity in the film Ram Setu by Abhishek Sharma released on 25 October 2022, as his character is unlike anything he has done in the recent past.

[238] Kumar next appeared opposite Parineeti Chopra as Jaswant Singh Gill, a brave and diligent mining engineer in the disaster thriller Mission Raniganj.

[248][249] Sukanya Verma noted, "The chemistry between the motley bunch of actors works in fits and starts but Akshay Kumar's gift of the gab come out tops.

[296][309] Kumar has endorsed brands including Thums Up, Honda, Tata Motors, Dollar, Harpic, Sparx, Livguard Battery, and Kajarai Tiles.

[323][324][325] In March 2023, Kumar performed in various cities in the United States for "The Entertainers" tour, alongside Disha Patani, Mouni Roy, Nora Fatehi, Sonam Bajwa, Aparshakti Khurana, Stebin Ben and Zahrah S Khan.

The actor was applauded by many for showing his concern towards the families of 12 slain jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who were killed in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday, 11 March 2017.