Pyaar soch samajh kar nahin kiya jaata... bas ho jaata hai.”

This memorable line delivered by Akshaye Khanna’s Sid, has not only gone down in Bollywood history, but is an apt descriptor for what the actor has met with over the last week — pyaar... that of the spontaneous, unplanned, organic variety.

As Rehman Dakait aka “Sher-e-Baloch” in Dhurandhar, the outburst of affection and accolades for Akshaye has manifested itself in various ways. Whether it is reviews (even unfavorable ones have singled him out for praise), the audience going gaga and trooping in for a repeat watch, with Rehman being one of the primary pull factors, his rare interviews from the past being dug up and played on loop, or clips from his old films surfacing — Akshaye Khanna, the one-of-a-kind actor who is only seen in his movies and never beyond — is now well and truly in the spotlight.

The man’s tour-de-force act in Dhurandhar is not that of the leading man, but he races ahead of everyone else by a mile. Dhurandhar has made Akshaye the man of the moment for many in the Gen-Z generation. For those of a certain vintage who first watched Vinod Khanna’s putra burst on to the scene with his debut film Himalay Putra in the late ’90s, it is a reminder of how delightfully versatile but criminally underutilised this actor is.

A sure-shot barometer to gauge Akshaye’s skyrocketing popularity? Within a few days of Dhurandhar blazing into packed cinemas, the reticent actor has become the flavour of the season in the world of Instagram Reels and memes. Open Insta and you will see at least a dozen Reels or more of Akshaye — landing a punch, delivering a punchy dialogue or dancing with abandon (more on that later). At 50, Khanna is, to use contemporary parlance, the new “National Crush”.

So what has worked for Akshaye Khanna — his superlative acting skills aside — in a film which is peopled with some of the best talents around? The fact that he chews up the scenery every moment that he is on screen in Dhurandhar, no matter who his co-stars may be. To exude main-character energy in a frame which has a livewire like Ranveer Singh is an achievement in itself, and Khanna does that in scene after scene, lending full justice to the part of a man drawn from uncomfortably recent history.

Rehman Dakait — with the latter half of his name not to be taken lightly — has been the stuff of legend in gangster lore in Lyari, Pakistan, where the film is predominantly set. Known for his unflinching brutality — Dakait killed his own mother and was known to play footie with the decapitated heads of his enemies — and one who contributed to the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, Rehman definitely isn’t a character we should be cheering for. But it is to Akshaye’s credit — he plays a loving husband and sensitive father with as much ease as a ruthless gangster — that our eyes stay on him.

In Dhurandhar, Akshaye has a blast — and it shows on screen. The narrowed eyes, the hint of an evil smile, the famous dimple on his chin dimpling even more... Akshaye is in top form, even turning lines like: “Rehman Dakait ki diyi hui maut badi kasainuma hoti hain” into the kind of dialogue baazi that has the audience cheering in the galleries. And to move with the kind of swagger that he does — in a film that has Sanjay Dutt, the original swag-star — invites a top salute.

And then, of course, are the real moves. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that a sizeable chunk of the Dhurandhar craze has been because of that viral moment when Rehman Dakait — dressed in all black — saunters into a Baloch stronghold, breaking into a spontaneous jig to the now on-trend Flipperachi number Fa9la. From what we now know, courtesy Vijay Ganguly, the choreographer of Dhurandhar, the moves were conjured in the moment by Akshaye himself, without any pre-decided steps. Just an actor at the top of his game throwing his head back and having some unbridled fun. Memes, Reels and celebrity recreations — in a week, everything has already been done, enabling the moment to go viral. It is a scene that is being likened to Bobby Deol’s Jamal kudu moment from Animal. The song is essentially about letting loose and enjoying the moment, which is why it caught on so quickly. What Akshaye brings to it — nimble steps, languid charm, casual body language — elevates it further.

This is not, however, Rehman Dakait’s entry scene. In fact, unlike the entry moments of some of the other actors in the film, Rehman comes in with no guns blazing. But there is a tremendous amount of foreshadowing — he is heard of, but not seen — before he walks in. And when he does, it is at the hospital to see his slain son, his persona more of a wounded father than an aggressive ganglord. Even otherwise, the film imbues Rehman Dakait with a certain amount of sensitivity, which could have potentially been at odds with the nature of the character, but given what Akshaye brings to the part — the quick few steps at Hamza’s (Ranveer) wedding, the pain in his eyes as his wife (Saumya Tandon) lights his cigarette — it never seems misplaced.

But then, Akshaye has always been someone who has quietly but firmly stolen the limelight. That searing intensity in Dil Chahta Hai, the devilish villainy in Race, Humraaz, Dishoom and more. The boy-next-door romantic who went “Saawan barse, tarse dil” in Dahek and “Kissa hum likhenge” in Doli Saja Ke Rakhna. The braveheart wearing his heart on his sleeve in Border and the man fighting for his love in Taal. The guy who made Hungama’s “Jeetu from Videocon” cult, the actor who showed his firepower in the courtroom drama Section 375. The cop with more than just instinct and intelligence in Mom and Drishyam 2. The man with insane comedic chops in many a film, making even inanity fun with his near-legendary “Yeh Oscar waale aise hi hote hain” over-the-top act in Tees Maar Khan.

Earlier this year, he showed up, completely unrecognisable, as Aurangzeb in Chhaava, the year’s biggest box-office hit so far. “Akshaye Khanna inhabits Aurangzeb fully, with his silences (deafening and killing in equal measure) forming a much-needed contrast to the loudness of the rest of the film,” read t2’s review of the Vicky Kaushal-led film, that released in February.

The Internet has blown up in the last few days. “Akshaye Khanna: The vibe, the aura, the legend”, writes a user on social platform X. Another user chips in with: “Akshaye Khanna barely spoke in the first 30 minutes, but owned every frame with just his eyes and expressions. The aura, the presence, the control. And that ‘Asalaam waleikum, Lyari’… sensational.”

“Akshaye Khanna is like that introvert student of the class who rarely speaks, minds his own business, tops every time and is respected by everyone,” was an apt summation by another.

What makes this AK the coolest one? Even as the world can’t have enough of him, he is probably back in his Alibaug pad, tending to his garden and catching up on his reading. No social media posts, no milking of success, no cashing in for this man. He will next be seen only in his next film.

“Aura farming” (with little or no effort) has hardly sat better on anyone.

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