Akshaye Khanna has always been a fine actor, but in 2025, he took it to another level. He began the year with a terrific negative turn in Chhaava and ended it with an even bigger bang as Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar. One person who deserves credit for helping shape Akshaye’s craft is Anup Soni of Crime Patrol fame. Recently, he opened up about training Akshaye when the latter was a student at Kishore Namit Kapoor’s acting institute
Anup Soni reveals, “I taught acting to Akshaye Khanna…extremely happy watching his journey; ALWAYS admired his clarity of thought”
In an interview to Bombay Times in February, Anup Soni revealed, “I feel extremely happy watching Akshaye’s journey. I have taught him acting and have done several classes with him. I’ve always admired his clarity of thought. He has experienced the journey of being a leading man, and what he is doing today is truly commendable. He has reached a stage where he is such a credible and dependable actor that you can cast him in any role. That kind of freedom as an actor is wonderful.”
In an interview with Ashoke Pandit, Anup Soni explained how he became a teacher, “I had just landed in Mumbai and I was feeling restless. Khaali nahin baithna tha. That’s when I read Gulshan Grover’s interview in Filmfare. He revealed he learned acting under Roshan Taneja saab. Sunil Dutt asked Roshan saab to teach acting to Sanjay Dutt. He used to ask Gulshan ji to accompany him while training Sanjay Dutt. I told myself, ‘Yeh raasta bhi bahut accha hai, yaar’!”
He added, “I opened the directory and called Kishore Namit Kapoor. I informed him that I had learned acting at the National School of Drama (NSD). He asked me to meet him immediately. I told him what all I have learned and that I can teach acting. He told me to start working in his institute from the next day.”
While talking to Bollywood Thikana, Anup opened up more on this journey, “One day, I told Kishore Namit Kapoor ji that I can conduct voice classes. I had trained in voice for one full month under a foreign teacher at NSD. Kishore ji was excited about the prospect of having a voice-specific class. He used to have his classes in a flat. I told him, ‘Sir, yeh classes flat mein nahin ho paayega. Shor machega. People in the neighbourhood might object’. So, he booked this hall called Aries near Juhu Beach for me. Every Sunday, for 3 hours, I used to do voice classes in that hall. He was so excited after the first session that he contacted his ex-students and asked them to attend my class. As a result, Fardeen Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Sonali Bendre, Divya Dutta etc have attended my class. I joke with them ‘Main tumhara teacher reh chuka hoon, bhale hi ek din ke liye’ (laughs).”
Anup Soni continued, “After a point, I realized that if I become too busy teaching, I won’t be able to concentrate on acting.”
More Pages: Dhurandhar Box Office Collection , Dhurandhar Movie ReviewTags : Akshaye Khanna, Anup Soni, Ashoke Pandit, Bollywood, Bollywood Features, Bollywood Thikana, Bombay Times, Dhurandhar, Features, Interview, Rehman Dakait, Reveals
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