Akshaye Khanna shocked Vinod Khanna by telling him he wants to be an actor while leaving Mumbai for further studies |

Akshaye Khanna is currently getting a lot of love for his role in ‘Dhurandhar’ after the massive success of the Aditya Dhar directorial. The actor had made his debut with ‘Himalay Putra’. He was launched by his father Vinod Khanna but did you know that Akshaye had never told his father that he wanted to be an actor. It was just during a dinner when ‘Border’ director JP Dutta asked him that Akshaye said yes to being an actor leaving his father shocked. JP Dutta’s daughter and ‘Border 2’ writer, producer, Nidhi Dutta has now opened up on that incident. Nidhi spoke about her family’s long-standing association with Akshaye, rooted in the close friendship between his father Vinod Khanna and her father. “He was very excited. Much before this wave had happened, he has always been Dharamvir (character Akshaye played in Border). His history with my family goes way back because Vinod Khanna and my father were best friends. Because of the amount of work that they have done together. This is why Vinod was always more than family, even if he is not with us, he still is,” she said during a chat with News18. Nidhi went on to recall how Akshaye’s entry into films happened almost by chance. “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’,” she shared.Since ‘Border’ was a multi-starrer, Nidhi revealed that Vinod Khanna chose to launch his son with another film first, making Border Akshaye’s second film instead. “Then you know what happened it was a multi-starrer, so Vinod uncle decided to make ‘Himalay Putra’ at that point,” she said, adding, “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 himself has previously spoken about how the opportunity came his way at a time when he was still finishing his education and unsure of how to express his aspirations to his father. Recalling the moment in an older interview with Prabhu Chawla, he said, “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.’”He admitted that he was nervous about voicing his desire to work in films, but the offer gave him the perfect opening. “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,” he said.Vinod Khanna, Akshaye recalled, was taken by surprise by his son’s sudden announcement. “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’,” he concluded.