Anupam Kher & Akshay Kumar Movies Together List — 16 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s belonged to Sainik; the 2010s to Baby. Anupam Kher acted in every film; Akshay Kumar acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Their first film together, Ikke Pe Ikka (1994), was a flop. But Anupam Kher later said he saw something in Akshay's comic timing even then. He pushed for Akshay to be cast in Heyy Babyy (2007) — that film rebooted their on-screen partnership after a 13-year gap.
• In Special 26 (2013), Kher played the calm, weary mastermind to Akshay's sharp, impulsive leader. Kher later said he deliberately slowed his dialogue delivery to make Akshay's fast-paced reactions pop more. That rhythm — slow vs. fast — became their signature in heist scenes.
• Their pairing in Baby (2015) directly led to the spin-off Naam Shabana (2017). Taapsee Pannu's character was introduced in Baby, but the producers greenlit her solo film only after seeing how well Kher and Akshay's mentor-protégé dynamic worked with her in the middle.
• On the sets of Desi Boyz (2011), Kher and Akshay had a running bet: whoever flubbed a line first had to buy lunch for the entire crew. Kher lost the first day. Akshay lost the next three. By the end of the shoot, they'd fed the unit for a week.
• "Akshay is the only co-star who has ever called me at 2 a.m. to discuss a scene. He said, 'Anupam ji, I think we should change the pause in the third line.' I told him, 'Beta, you're the only one who notices pauses at 2 a.m.'" — Anupam Kher, in a 2015 interview with Filmfare.
• In Toilet - Ek Prem Katha (2017), Kher played the stubborn father. Akshay improvised a scene where he silently hands his father a newspaper with a headline about open defecation deaths. Kher didn't react — he just stared at the paper for 10 seconds. That unscripted beat became the film's most talked-about moment.