Akshay Oberoi (born 1 January 1985) is an American actor of
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
descent, who works in
Hindi films
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
. After making his acting debut as a child in the 2002 comedy-drama ''
American Chai
''American Chai'' is a 2001 comedy-drama film written and directed by Indian American director Anurag Mehta. His brother, Aalok Mehta, played the starring role opposite Sheetal Sheth, who had previously starred in the similar genre film ''ABCD'' ...
'', Oberoi played his first leading role in
Rajshri Productions
Rajshri Productions Pvt. Ltd. is a film production and distribution company based in Mumbai, India, established in 1947, which is primarily involved in producing Hindi films. The most successful films produced by the company include ''Dosti'' ( ...
film ''
Isi Life Mein
''Isi Life Mein...!'' () is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by Vidhi Kasliwal and starring Akshay Oberoi alongside Sandeepa Dhar in both their debut film. It was released on 24 December 2010. The film earned Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut no ...
'' (2010). Oberoi has received critical acclaim for his work.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He attended
Newark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Col ...
for middle school and high school and pursued a bachelor's degree in Theater Arts and Economics at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. He also completed acting training in
Stella Adler
Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. ''
Meisner technique
The Meisner technique is an approach to acting developed by American theatre practitioner Sanford Meisner.
The goal of the Meisner approach is for the actor to not focus on themselves and instead concentrate on the other actors in the immediate ...
. During his education, he studied acting under
John Astin
John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in ''The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising th ...
from ''
The Addams Family
''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
''. He also studied ballet,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and
hip-hop dance
Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in ...
at
Broadway Dance Center
Broadway Dance Center is a dance school located at 322 West 45th Street west of Times Square in New York City. It was founded in 1984 as one of the first "drop-in" dance training schools in the world, offering classes in jazz, tap, ballet, conte ...
. He moved to India and did plays at the famous
Prithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It was built by Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer Kapoor in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi's father, who had dreamt of having a "home" for his repertory theatre company, Prithvi Th ...
and received training from
Kishore Namit Kapoor
Kishore Namit Kapoor (born 1949) is an Indian actor, author and acting teacher. He has trained some of the most prominent film and television actors of the Hindi industry including Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Ranveer Singh ...
.
Akshay's father, Krishan Oberoi, is the brother of the actor
Suresh Oberoi
Suresh Oberoi (born 17 December 1946) is an Indian actor and politician who appeared in Hindi films. He is a recipient of the 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He started his career in radio shows, modelling and later moving ...
and thus Akshay is first cousin to
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films.
Early life
Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...
.
Career
Oberoi started his career by working at the famed
Prithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It was built by Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer Kapoor in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi's father, who had dreamt of having a "home" for his repertory theatre company, Prithvi Th ...
in
Juhu
Juhu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova (Mumbai), Versova to the north, Vile Parle to ...
with
Makrand Deshpande
Makarand Deshpande (born 6 March 1966) is an Indian actor, writer, and director in Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil cinema, and Indian Theatre. He is often seen in supporting and pivotal roles in various films like ''Jungle'', ...
. Starting with backstage work, Makrand later offered him a part in ''Miss Beautiful''.
Oberoi then made his film debut in
Sooraj Barjatya
Sooraj R. Barjatya (born 22 February 1964) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and distributor, predominantly working in Hindi cinema. Barjatya has directed and produced some of the most commercially successful Indian films ...
's ''
Isi Life Mein
''Isi Life Mein...!'' () is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by Vidhi Kasliwal and starring Akshay Oberoi alongside Sandeepa Dhar in both their debut film. It was released on 24 December 2010. The film earned Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut no ...
''. On its release the film failed to click at the box office. However, Oberoi was lauded by the critics for his work in the film.
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
from
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
commented, "The only noteworthy aspect of the film is its lead pair. Akshay Oberoi is talented – no two opinions on that. He has good screen presence, but most importantly, he acts very well." Prathna Tiwari of BollySpice said, "The newcomers definitely are off to a good start. In particular Akshay Oberoi who has great screen presence, delivers his dialogues confidently and also proves to be eye candy for the ladies." Sarita Tanwar of
Mid-Day
''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions were ...
noted, "Newcomer Akshay Oberoi is confident and delivers."
Oberoi moved to television work post the release of his first film. In 2012, he played the lead role in
Bejoy Nambiar
Bejoy Nambiar (born 12 April 1979) is an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work in Bollywood. He is mostly known for his critically acclaimed short films, ''Rahu'' and ''Reflections (2005 film), Reflections'', starring Mohanl ...
's ''MTV Rush''. Nambiar, impressed with Oberoi's work on the show, offered him his second film, the Tamil remake of the suspense thriller ''
Pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...
''. ''
Pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...
'' released on 18 July 2014, where Oberoi was once again praised by the critics. Renuka Vyavahare of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' said, "Lead actor Akshay Oberoi does complete justice to the spine-chilling story with iscompelling presence. We would like to see
his
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, in ...
actor more often on screen..."
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
commented, "One witnesses a noticeable growth in Akshay Oberoi's performance, who interprets the challenging role with sincerity. The varied emotions that he gets to exhibit – anxiety, fright, vulnerability – come across well in several sequences" Sweta Kaushal of
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
noted, "An effortless performance by Akshay Oberoi make this horror flick worth a one-time watch." Subhash K. Jha said, "Akshay Oberoi's Kunal is a mixture of the timid and the defiant. He lets the character's confusions build up as the story progresses so that finally we see him as a victim in ways that we would never suspect otherwise. " Shubha Shetty-Saha of
Mid-Day
''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions were ...
stated, "This remake...solely rests on the still young shoulders of newcomer Akshay Oberoi, who has to go through a range of emotions in the 120 plus minutes long duration of the film. A dream role for someone who's just about a film old, ''Pizza 3D'' has Oberoi in almost every frame and must say, he has done a decent job." Sneha May Francis of
Emirates 24/7
Emirates 24/7, stylised as Emirates 24, 7, is a Dubai Media Incorporated news website and television news programme, respectively. The televised news programme, Emirates 24/7, is a 30-minute segment broadcast weekly on Dubai Media Inc.'s televisio ...
noted, "Akshay Oberoi holds hefort impressively. He's impeccable as the timid Kunal, exploiting his insecurities and fears with maturity and restraint. For a bloke fresh on the Bollywood trail, that's bloody impressive..."
Oberoi has also received rave reviews for his work in ''
Laal Rang
''Laal Rang'' () is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language black comedy crime drama film directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal and produced by Nitika Thakur and Krian Media. Randeep Hooda, Akshay Oberoi and Piaa Bajpai star in the lead roles. Set in Haryana, the ...
'' and ''
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
''. Maggie Lee of
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
said of his work in ''
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
'', "Oberoi oozes bad-boy sexiness, injecting physical potency into Nikki's loose-canon behavior." and Film Campion's Rahul Desai said, "Oberoi's light-eyed cold-bloodedness lends credence to ''
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
''s volatility in a way that lets the film take any unresolved direction it chooses to." While Subhash K. Jha said, "it's Akshay Oberoi playing the outcast son who steals the thunder lighting and what-not. It's a big-bang performance, implosive and bursting at the seams with unspoken bitterness. Oberoi plays the truant son (a cliché in the crime genre) with much empathy and little compassion. In one sequence we see him brutally violate a prostitute in a bath tub. We know what levels of violence Nikki is cabable of. Nikki doesn't disappoint."
On 24 March 2011, Oberoi married Jyothi Vynatheya, a strategy consultant with
Dalberg Global Development Advisors
Dalberg Global Development Advisors is a strategy and policy advisory firm. Founded in 2001, the company specializes in global development. Dalberg has worked in over 90 countries with over 400 clients including governments, foundations, interna ...
. Akshay first met Jyothi at Newark Academy. Their son, Avyaan, was born in April 2017.