Akshay Kumar turns 53: A look at the actor's upcoming projects from Laxmmi Bomb to Sooryavanshi

Akshay Kumar celebrates his 53rd birthday today in Scotland, where he is currently shooting for Bell Bottom alongside  Vaani Kapoor , Huma Qureshi and Lara Dutta. To mark the actor’s birthday, the makers shared a new still from the film. Directed by Ranjit M Tewari and written by Aseem Arrora and Parveez Shaikh, Bell Bottom, said to be a spy thriller set in the ’80s, is the first Hindi movie to be shot post the coronavirus lockdown. Here is the image

NEW LOOK... On #AkshayKumar's birthday today, Team #BellBottom unveils the new look from the spy thriller... Set in the 1980s, #Akshay enacts the part of a #RAW agent in the film, which is currently being filmed in #Scotland... Directed by Ranjit M Tewari. pic.twitter.com/epRgd3jH74

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) September 9, 2020

Kumar will also be featuring in Discovery Channel’s  Into The Wild With Bear Grylls . Last week, he shared an action-packed promo, where he said he tasted elephant poop tea and ran into the woods along with Grylls. Besides Bell Bottom, Kumar has a bevy of upcoming projects. Sooryanvashi [caption id=“attachment_8541591” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A poster of Sooryavanshi | Image from Twitter[/caption] The cop comedy was scheduled to release in theatres on 24 March, but had to be postponed due to the shuttering of cinemas. Kumar will play Veer Sooryavanshi, the chief of the anti-terrorism squad; the name seems to be inspired by Salman Khan’s Veer (2010) and Suryavanshi (1992). With this film, also starring Katrina Kaif, director Rohit Shetty will expand his cop universe. He had previously directed Ajay Devgn in Singham and _Singham Returns_ , and Ranveer Singh in Simmba . Singh and Devgn will also make a cameo appearance in the film. Laxmmi Bomb [caption id=“attachment_8541181” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A poster of Laxmmi Bomb | Image from Twitter[/caption] Raghava Lawrence’s Tamil horror comedy remake, Laxmmi Bomb, will see Kumar as a man haunted by vengeful ghosts. Kiara Advani plays the opposite lead in the Hindi version. The horror-comedy is set to stream on Disney+Hotstar , bypassing a theatrical release as screens remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a virtual press conference in June, Kumar had said OTT release was the only wise option in the current scenario. Bachchan Pandey [caption id=“attachment_8799711” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A poster of Bachchan Pandey | Image from Twitter[/caption] Kumar will reunite with frequent collaborator Sajid Nadiadwala for this feature. Housefull 4 director Farhad Samji is at the helm. The makers had shared two different looks of the actor last year. Also starring Kriti Sanon, Bachchan Pandey releases in January, 2021. Prithviraj

Kumar will play Rajput warrior and king, Prithviraj Chauhan in the YRF production, which marks the feature debut of Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar. On his 52nd birthday, Kumar had shared a brief teaser of Prithviraj.  A source told Mumbai Mirror that the shoot of Prithviraj had to be halted in March due to the pandemic, and after Kumar wraps up Bell Bottom, he will begin work on the historical drama by October. Atrangi R****e [caption id=“attachment_8799741” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sara Ali Khan, Kumar and Dhanush in Atrangi Re announcement pictures| Image from Twitter[/caption] The Aanand L Rai produced film will feature Tamil superstar Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan in the lead, while Kumar will be seen in a cameo appearance. “It’s is a challenging character to play, but at the same time, it is such a special role that my heart just couldn’t say ‘no’ to it. I will remember it for the rest of my life. My combination with Sara and Dhanush truly makes it true to its title — Atrangi! And I know that Aanand, in his special and simple way of storytelling, will only add magic to it,” Kumar had previously told Times of India.