Akshay was born as Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia into a middle class Punjabi family in Amritsar, Punjab. He can cook Thai & Chinese food as he spent his early life in Bangkok as a chef. In Mumbai, he lived in Koliwada, a Punjabi dominated area. During his years in Bollywood, Akshay Kumar was romantically linked with several of his co-star actresses including Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty. After being engaged twice to actress Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of veteran actors, Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, Akshay finally married her on January 14, 2001.