Akshaye Khanna Becomes Second Actor After SRK To Achieve 2000Cr Feat in 2025

Akshaye Khanna has recorded one of the strongest commercial years of his career, with his 2025 releases Chhaava and Dhurandhar jointly crossing ₹2,000 crore at the global box office. The milestone places him among a small group of Indian actors to reach the figure within a single calendar year, a list previously led only by Shah Rukh Khan.

The first half of the year was anchored by Chhaava, a historical drama headlined by Vicky Kaushal, in which Khanna played Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Released amid high expectations, the film exceeded industry projections, eventually earning more than ₹800 crore worldwide. It went on to rank as the third highest-grossing Indian film of the year, driven by sustained theatrical attendance rather than front-loaded weekend numbers.

Khanna’s second major release, Dhurandhar, arrived in December. Directed by Aditya Dhar and led by Ranveer Singh, the espionage thriller has remained in cinemas into the new year and has crossed ₹1,100 crore globally. While the film was positioned as a large-scale action spectacle, much of the critical attention has focused on Khanna’s performance as Rehman Dakait, a Pakistani gangster written with moral ambiguity and restraint. The role has been widely described as one of the film’s defining elements.

With the combined earnings of the two films exceeding ₹2,000 crore, Khanna becomes only the second Indian actor to reach the mark within a single year. Shah Rukh Khan previously set the benchmark in 2023, when Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki together earned approximately ₹2,685 crore worldwide. Aamir Khan’s Dangal later crossed ₹2,000 crore globally, though its international roll-out extended across multiple years.

Other contemporary box-office leaders have approached but not matched the annual milestone. Baahubali 2, starring Prabhas, and Pushpa 2, led by Allu Arjun, each grossed more than ₹1,700 crore worldwide. Industry analysts note that future releases such as Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana may test the upper limits of the benchmark, though outcomes remain speculative.

Khanna’s commercial run follows a period of professional recalibration. After exiting Drishyam 3 earlier in the year, the actor has since moved on to Mahakali, a mythological film directed by Prashanth Varma. The project marks his debut in Telugu cinema and places him within the expanding Prashanth Varma Cinematic Universe. Khanna is cast as Shukracharya, a pivotal figure in the narrative, with Bhoomi Shetty in the lead role.

While Khanna has rarely been positioned as a conventional box-office driver, 2025 has demonstrated the commercial value of his presence across large-scale productions. The year’s figures suggest a shift in how sustained performance, rather than star-led spectacle alone, is being measured in contemporary Indian cinema.