Nidhi also shared an interesting insight into Akshaye’s career and revealed that he initially did not want to be an actor. “Akshaye was actually going to study abroad, and he never wanted to be an actor, and he was having dinner with my father and uncle Vinod at Uncle Vinod’s house, that’s what they told me, and dad asked him, would you act in a war film? Akshaye was supposed to leave in two days and that’s why they were having this farewell dinner. Akshaye said, ‘Yes, I will.’ Uncle Vinod said to me, ‘Are you crazy? Do you want to do it?’ If you’re an actor, you never told me this. Akshaye said, ‘I’m telling you now. “I want to be an actor.”

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Nidhi further shared that since Border was multi-starrer, Vinod Khanna decided to release Akshaye in Himalay Putra (1997) first, and Border eventually became his second film. “Then you know what happened: it was a multi-starrer film, so Vinod’s uncle decided to do Himalay Putra at that time,” he said. He added: “It’s a different feeling to see him wear that uniform again and walk onto the set after so many years. It was special for him and for us.”

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

“JP Dutta sahab jo the woh mere pitaji ke ghar pe aaye the khaane ke liye. Main boarding school uss wakt mein tha aur meri umar kuchh 18 saal ki thi. Toh unhone mujhe kaha, woh ek kone mein baithe the, unhone kaha, ‘Main image ek bana raha hun, Border. Tu kaam karna Chahega? Ek aisa hai mere paas ek papel.’ (JP Dutta Sahab had come to my father’s house to eat. At that time, I was in a boarding school and was about 18. He was sitting in a corner and said to me, ‘I am doing 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 an old interview.

Akshaye accepted that he was afraid to reveal his acting ambitions to his father, but this gave him the opportunity 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 image?’ Ek saal ke bathroom. (Now, since I had wanted to tell my father, but was a little nervous about when and how to tell him that I wanted to work in movies, I felt like this was the perfect opportunity. I thought, ‘I should grab this with both hands.’ So I said, ‘Yes, I will. When does the movie start?’ He said in a year. By then, I had to finish school.)”

Vinod Khanna was taken aback by Akshaye’s statement. “Toh mere pitaji ne kaha, ‘Kya? Filmon mein kaam karna chahte ho?’ Maine ball, ‘Haan, dekhte hain. Ek chhota sa role hai, multi star cast film hai, JP 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’. Then he says, ‘Phir main ek picture banata hun tere liye.’ (My father was surprised and asked me, ‘What? Do you want to work in films?’ I said, ‘Yes, let’s see. It’s a small role in a multi-starrer film; JP Sahab asked me, so I thought I’d give it a try.’ That’s how he found out. Then he said, ‘No, if you want to do this, tell me.’ I said, ‘Yes, I do.’”