Shah Rukh Khan and Akshaye Khanna are the only two Indian actors to have two Rs 500 crore+ hits within the same year.
Aditya Dhar’s period spy thriller Dhurandhar is an unstoppable force at the box office. The Ranveer Singh-starrer has now amassed Rs 690.47 crore at the domestic box office within just 24 days since its release. This has allowed it to surpass Laxman Utekar’s period war drama Chhaava from earlier this year to become the highest grossing Hindi film at the Indian box office.
Dhurandhar has, thus, also outpaced the two Shah Rukh Khan blockbusters that dominated the box office in 2023 and resurrected his career as a bankable lead action star. It’s beaten Siddharth Anand’s spy thriller Pathaan, which earned Rs 543.09 crore, of which the original Hindi version made Rs 524.53 crore at the domestic box office.
Dhurandhar has also edged past Atlee’s action thriller Jawan, which amassed Rs 640.25 crore, of which the original Hindi version garnered Rs 582.31 crore, at the domestic box office. Dhurandhar, which has collected Rs 690.47 crore in its only version, has left both the Shah Rukh Khan blockbusters far behind.
Dhurandhar’s historic run has given redemption to Ranveer, who didn’t have a solo release in over a couple of years since Karan Johar’s hit family comedy Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. But more than him, it’s his co-star Akshaye Khanna who has achieved a major box office feat with the record-breaking success of Dhurandhar.
Since he was also a part of the domestically highest grossing Hindi film before Dhurandhar, Chhaava, he has two of Hindi cinema’s highest domestic grossers to his credit. Besides that, the fact that he managed to score both within the same calendar year gives him a milestone only conquered once in the past — by Shah Rukh Khan in 2023.
Two years ago, Shah Rukh scored two films that grossed over Rs 500 crore at the domestic box office within the same year — Pathaan and Jawan. Now, Akshaye has become only the second actor to have that record. In fact, his two films have scored far higher (Rs 1292.01 crore and counting) than those of Shah Rukh combined (Rs 1183.34 crore) across all languages at the domestic box office.
Their past interaction has revealed that Shah Rukh holds Akshaye in high regard as an actor. While the two haven’t shared screen space together, Akshaye was a part of Abhay Chopra’s 2017 whodunit Ittefaq, which was co-produced by Shah Rukh’s banner Red Chillies Entertainment. At the film’s trailer launch, Shah Rukh was all praise for Akshaye.
“He’s always a little off beat. He’s got a different beat that he dances to, and I find that interesting. He comes once in a while and creates something unfathomable. I really, really appreciate you as an actor. Having said that, I can also ask you, why the hell are you like this?,” Shah Rukh had said, only for Akshaye to reply with his signature grin.