Sunil Shetty & Akshay Kumar Movies Together List — 12 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s belonged to Waqt Hamara Hai; the 2010s to Thank You. Sunil Shetty acted in every film; Akshay Kumar acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• They first met on the set of 'Waqt Hamara Hai' (1993) when both were struggling actors. Akshay was a former waiter and martial arts teacher; Sunil was a model. Neither had a hit yet. They bonded over being outsiders in the industry.
• In 'Mohra' (1994), Akshay played the intense, action-heavy role while Sunil handled the comic relief. That split — Akshay as the brooding hero, Sunil as the wisecracking sidekick — became their default formula for the next decade.
• 'Hera Pheri' (2000) was a flop on release. But it became a cult classic on TV and VCD, and directly inspired the entire 'comedy of errors' trend in 2000s Bollywood. Without Sunil and Akshay's deadpan back-and-forth, there's no 'Dhamaal' or 'Golmaal' franchise.
• During the shoot of 'Awara Paagal Deewana' (2002), Akshay and Sunil shared a vanity van for weeks. They'd rehearse scenes together at night, often rewriting dialogues on the spot. Sunil later said that van was where they figured out their comic timing.
• Sunil Shetty once said in an interview: 'Akshay and I never had a formal acting class. We learned comedy by making each other laugh on set. If one of us broke character, we knew the scene worked.'
• In 'Phir Hera Pheri' (2006), Akshay improvised the famous 'yeh mera ghar hai' rant. Sunil, playing straight man, had to keep a straight face while Akshay went off-script for three minutes. The director kept the take because Sunil's barely-suppressed smile made the scene.