Akshay Kumar turned 49 on Friday with much to celebrate about. Way back in June, long before Rustom took on Mohenjo Daro at the box office and emerged the clear winner, this column had talked of Akshay Kumar's golden streak with two back-to-back hits, Airlift and Housefull 3 . Now make that three, or even four back-to-back successes, if one can count a short but impactful guest appearance in Dishoom.

What makes Akshay's current form even more impressive is that none of his films this year have been fluke hits, there's a definite pattern that's working for the actor. And to think that post Chandni Chowk To China , with a series of unwatchable films like Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!, Khiladi 786 and Boss, he had almost lost his drawing power.

Today, Akshay has gained credibility as an actor who can deliver variety - from playing a rib-tickling gay to a serious naval commander - and make money for everybody around. By that one isn't referring only to his producers or to the actor himself. Akshay's willingness and ability to do four to five films a year which are varied and are commercial winners, translates into generating employment for hundreds of workers. There's also an increase in allied businesses like the sale of popcorn, samosas at food counters or more revenue from car park charges, several times a year. Which is why the film industry (and all the side businesses associated with it) is celebrating Akshay's hat-trick.

There has been a distinct change noticed in Akshay's approach to work with only his legendary discipline remaining constant. From a man whose sole aim was to go home with a fat pay cheque never mind the fate of the film, he has morphed into a script-savvy actor planning on playing a long innings at the box office.

With three 100-crore films in a row in a span of eight months (Rustom netted Rs 126 crore in four weeks and still counting), Akshay has gifted himself the reputation of being one of the most reliable stars of the day.

It's interesting how every major hero has done the maths that suits him best. On an average, while Salman Khan delivers a monster hit like Sultan once a year, Aamir Khan makes his moves cerebrally once in two years (PK was released in December 2014). Akshay is the only top name to have always had multiple releases annually but making each one count is a recent and welcome transformation in him.

Moving on to figures of a different kind, Esha Gupta, the girl with oomph and a big duck-like pout who played the dead man's socialite-sister in Rustom , is rumoured to be creating a ruckus in a married man's life. No, the man is not Akshay Kumar who is too smart to be indiscreet. Esha's current man is a multi-millionaire with his own private aircraft; his dad makes sackfulls of money from the gutka business. The son, Sachiin Joshi is his name, tried to become an actor and also put his money into films like Jazbaa, the Aishwarya Rai-starrer. Sachiin was a married man with a daughter when he fell in love with the very attractive Urvashi Sharma (who did films like Naqaab and the Akshay-starrer Khatta Meetha). The besotted businessman divorced his wife (said to be a doctor) to marry Urvashi who changed her name to Raina, gave birth to a daughter and currently works in television serials. That by the way is not the happy ending. It's the beginning of the story. For a new chapter has been opened.

Now Esha Gupta is whispered to be playing spoilsport in Urvashi/ Raina's perfect heaven. Sigh, does a leopard change his spots even if he changes his wives?

I once visited Sachiin (after Urvashi became his wife and the mother of his second daughter) and it was quite an experience. He lives in an upscale apartment at the foot of Pali Hill, in a bustling part of Bandra. But when you enter his house, it's like a world of its own. There are enough guards around to make you feel you're entering Don territory. The door is opened by some more guards. You're directed to remove your footwear. Then you're led to a shelf full of rubber slippers, the kind you lounge around in at home. You choose one that fits you and move silently to a dining table where somebody else is also waiting. Sachiin is holding a session with another group and you have to wait your turn with a bottle of mineral water for company.

You exhale only when you retrieve your footwear and return to the welcome hurry-scurry of Pali Hill.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author