Sonam Kapoor & Akshay Kumar Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s belonged to Delhi-6; the 2010s to Padman. Sonam Kapoor acted in every film; Akshay Kumar acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Akshay Kumar was not the first choice for Padman. The role was originally offered to Irrfan Khan. When Irrfan passed, Akshay stepped in — and Sonam Kapoor, who had already signed on, stayed. That’s how they ended up together for their biggest hit.
• In Thank You, Sonam’s character was written as the straight-laced wife to Akshay’s philandering husband. But on set, Sonam kept improvising sarcastic one-liners that made Akshay break character. The director finally told her to just go with it — and those unscripted digs became the film’s only memorable scenes.
• During Delhi-6, Sonam was a nervous newcomer. Akshay, already a star, would quietly slip her notes before every scene — not about acting, but about how to handle the media. She later said he taught her 'how to survive the circus' of Bollywood.
• Sonam Kapoor on Akshay Kumar: 'He’s the only co-star who would call me at 6 AM to discuss a scene. I hated it, but it made me a better actor.'
• Padman’s success directly led to a wave of Bollywood films about social taboos — including Akshay’s own Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Mission Mangal. Without Sonam and Akshay’s pairing in that film, the 'social message masala' trend might not have taken off the way it did.