2025 has been entirely in the hands of Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna. Starring in just films, Chhaava and Dhurandhar, Akshaye Khanna stole the limelight even from the lead actor. The actor has outshone the male lead by playing a powerful villain. In Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar, Akshaye Khanna’s portrayal of gangster Rehman Dakait has become fans’ favourite. It is a very rare sight to see where an antagonist outshines the lead actor. For Akshaye Khanna, Chhaava and Dhurandhar were the films. Currently, Akhaye Khanna is doing ‘aura farming’ on social media.
Akshaye Khanna as Rheman Dakait breaks the internet with ‘Aura farming’ moment: Watch
According to netizens, Akshaye Khanna’s villain role is deliberately cultivating a cool, charismatic image as Rehman Dakait in Dhuradhar. On multiple occasions, Akshaye Khanna, through his stylised actions and aesthetic choices, built a strong, effortless vibe, a fan favourite moment in the film. However, what might come as a shocker is that Akshaye never saw him playing a villain role; he initially saw himself as a hero.
Akshaye started as a hero, How did he become fans’ favourite villain?
Akshaye Khanna has established himself as one of the best villains in Hindi cinema over the past few years. Surprisingly, Akshaye began his acting career as a lead hero in the 1997 film Himalaya Putra.
Or let’s just say he never achieved the milestone he was seeking as a hero. Thus, despite being a star kid, Akshaye’s career remained limited, and he didn’t achieve much success in leading roles.
How Akshaye Khanna’s career changed after playing villain roles?
The biggest change in Akshaye Khanna’s career came when he left heroism and began playing antagonist roles. Especially for an actor who sees himself as a hero, it’s difficult to prioritise negative roles in your career, despite being a once-famous lead hero.
But Akshaye Khanna accepted this challenge with flying colours, and today he is recognised as one of Bollywood’s best villains. Not just Dhurandhar or Chhaava, Akshaye Khanna’s antagonist in Race 2 and Dishoom impressed the audience.
Will Akshaye Khanna continue to play villain roles?
After Dhurandhar, Akshaye Khanna will once again be seen playing a negative role in films. This time, it’s South Indian cinema’s turn. Earlier this year, Akshay’s impressive first look poster was in the Telugu film Mahakali. The Dhurandhar actor is set to play demon guru Shukracharya. This film is expected to be released in theatres in 2026.
