Akshaye Khanna’s recent box office resurgence with Dhurandhar has not only reignited fan love for his older roles, it has also prompted some candid industry reflections. On March 14, 2026, filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan looked back at her history with the actor and described just how dramatically he has changed over the years, from a tense presence on set in the 1990s to a performer she now calls all about the craft.
The conversation came up during Farah’s appearance on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, where she spoke about working with Akshaye on Tees Maar Khan (2010) and recalled an earlier phase when she actively avoided signing films that featured him.
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Farah said Akshaye’s temperament in the 1990s made an impact on her. “Yeah, he’s too good yaar. In the ’90s, I did a couple of movies with him, and after that I was traumatised. Because he used to be a different person. Introverted, but not a very nice person on set,” she shared, adding that whenever she heard he was part of a project, she would decline by saying, “I don’t have the dates.”
Farah connected that “irritable” period to Akshaye’s early hair loss, recalling, “I think at that time, he’s also spoken about it, he was losing his hair at a very young age. He used to be constantly irritable. He used to throw things, script, and say, ‘Yeh kya dialogue hai?’”
She then traced the shift to Dil Chahta Hai (2001), saying he seemed to have made peace with himself and became far easier to work with. Farah also praised his screen presence and even his dancing in the film’s iconic track, Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe, claiming he danced “better than both Aamir (Khan) and Saif (Ali Khan).”
Talking about where they stand today, Farah summed up the bond with a warm, work-first respect. “What I like about him (Akshaye) is that he’s not about the fluff, he’s about the work. What he enjoys is being on set and doing acting. Acting! Acting karo. Usko acting mein maza aata hai,” she said, adding that she called him up right after watching Dhurandhar.
Akshaye Khanna’s Recent And Upcoming Work
In the last four years, Akshaye was seen in Abhishek Pathak’s Drishyam 2 (2022), where he played a key role in the thriller’s cat-and-mouse stakes. His 2025 run saw him take on a historical part in Laxman Utekar’s Chhaava and then pivot to a darker, more menacing space with Dhurandhar, written and directed by Aditya Dhar, in which he played Rehman Dakait.
Next, he returns to the big screen in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which is slated to release in theatres on March 19, 2026.
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