Akshay has recently revealed that he got his big break in the film industry after missing a flight to a modelling assignment, after he thought the flight was at 6pm when it was in fact, at 6am.

A distraught Akshay was walking past Nataraj Studios in tears after missing his flight and was quickly noticed by a make-up artist who saw some pictures Akshay was carrying of himself.

The make-up artist called him inside the studios, handed Akshay a cheque for five thousand rupees and said, “Son. I want to make a film with you” – and as the say, the rest is history. The star has credited fate for causing him to miss the flight and acknowledged that if it was not for this, he may have never got his first film opportunity.

Since then, he has supported thousands of people as a sign of his gratitude, including making charitable donations to the Tata Memorial Centre.

This year, he also launched and opened his Martial Arts Institute for women in Mumbai.

This will enable them to learn the discipline of Martial Arts and ensure that that they are well trained to defend themselves.

Akshay Kumar will next be seen on our screens in the adventure-comedy film ‘The Shaukeens’.

The film, out on November 7, is a remake of Basu Chatterjee’s 1982 comedy ‘Shaukeen’ and is directed by Abhishek Sharma of Tere Bin Laden fame.

The adventure tale follows three middle-aged men, played by Annu Kapoor, Piyush Mishra and Anupam Kher, who venture on a trip to Bangkok, where they meet the sizzling hot Lisa Haydon.

The ever-versatile Akshay Kumar makes a cameo appearance as himself in the feel-good film.

Meanwhile, Akshay was recently presented with the ‘Box Office 1000 Crore Hero’ award at the ‘Star Box Office India Awards’, the first ceremony of its kind.

‘The Box Office 1000 Crore Hero’ award has been given to Akshay to celebrate his collection of over Rs 1000 Crore at the domestic box office over the past five years. For those unfamiliar with the currency, 1000 Crore equates to approximately 100 million Pounds Sterling or 160 million US Dollars!