‘Vinod Khanna asked, are you crazy?’: Akshaye Khanna was leaving Mumbai, Nidhi Dutta reveals how a ‘farewell’ dinner turned him into actor

Producer Nidhi Dutta reveals the surprising story of Akshaye Khanna’s entry into films. From a farewell dinner at Vinod Khanna’s house to ditching his studies abroad for J.P. Dutta’s Border, discover how a family friendship birthed Akshaye’s cinematic career.

Nidhi also shared an interesting insight into Akshaye’s career and revealed how he initially did not want to be an actor. “Akshaye was actually leaving for studies abroad, and he never wanted to be an actor, and he was having dinner with my father and Vinod uncle at Vinod uncle‘s house, that’s what I have been told, and dad asked him, will you act in a war film? Akshaye was to leave in two days and that’s why they were having this farewell dinner. Akshaye said ‘Yes, I will do it’. Vinod uncle was like, ‘Are you crazy? You want to be an actor you never told me this.’ Akshaye said, ‘I’m telling you now. I will be an actor’.”Nidhi further shared that since Border was a multi-starrer, Vinod Khanna decided to launch Akshaye in Himalay Putra (1997) first, and Border eventually became his second film. “Then you know what happened it was a multi-starrer, so Vinod uncle decided to make Himalay Putra at that point,” she said. She added, “It’s a different feeling to see him wear that uniform again and walk onto set after so many years. It was special for him and for us.”

Akshaye had also spoken about his entry in films earlier, recalling how his father wanted him to finish his studies.

“J.P. Dutta sahab jo the woh mere pitaji ke ghar pe aaye the khaane ke liye. Main uss wakt boarding school mein tha aur meri umar kuchh 18 saal ki thi. Toh unhone mujhe kaha, woh ek kone mein baithe the, unhone kaha, ‘Main ek picture bana raha hun, Border. Tu kaam karna chahega? Ek aisa hai mere paas ek role.’ (J.P. Dutta Sahab had come over to my father’s house for a meal. At that time, I was in boarding school and was about 18 years old. He was sitting in a corner and he said to me, ‘I am making a film called Border. Would you like to work in it? I have a role like that for you.’),” he had told Prabhu Chawla in a an old interview.Akshaye accepted that he was scared to reveal his acting ambitions to his father but this gave him a chance to reveal them. Toh, kyunki main bolna chahta tha apne pitaji se, thodi si ghabrahat hoti thi ki main kab bolu, kaise bolu ki main kaam karna chahta hun filmon mein. Toh yeh mujhe laga ki sabse sahi mauka hai, isko aap matlab dono haath se pakad lo. Toh maine kaha ki, ‘Haan, main karunga kaam. Kab shuru ho rahi hai picture?’ Ek saal ke baad. Toh tab tak main chhootne waala tha school se. (Now, because I had been wanting to tell my father—but was a bit nervous about when and how to say that I wanted to work in films—I felt this was the perfect opportunity. I thought, ‘I should grab this with both hands.’ So I said, ‘Yes, I’ll do it. When does the film start?’ He said in a year’s time. By then, I was due to finish school.)”

Vinod Khanna was taken aback by Akshaye’s declaration. “Toh mere pitaji ne kaha, ‘Kya? Filmon mein kaam karna chahte ho?’ Maine bola, ‘Haan, dekhte hain. Ek chhota sa role hai, multi-star cast film hai, J.P. sahab ne poocha toh maine bola chalo main koshish karta hun.’ Toh wahan se unko pata chala. Toh unhone kaha, ‘Nahi, agar tu karna chahta hai toh mujhe bol.’ Maine kaha, ‘Haan, main karna chahta hun.’ Toh he’s like, ‘Phir main ek picture banata hun tere liye’. (My father was shocked and asked, ‘What? You want to work in films?’ I replied, ‘Yes, let’s see. It’s a small role in a multi-starrer; J.P. Sahab asked, so I thought I’d give it a try.’ That’s how he found out. He then said, ‘No, if you want to do this, tell me.’ I said, ‘Yes, I want to.’ So he was like, ‘In that case, I will make a film for you).’”