Akshay Kumar

I always check my harness before I do a stunt I test-drive the cars I have to race or explode I'm present at all pyrotechnical rehearsals and I walk through everything step-by-step. No man should put their life in someone else's hands unless they have covered their own safety from all angles.

I do not stick to rules when cooking. I rely on my imagination.

No one has got close enough to use or abuse me, and even if they did, I wouldn't get too emotional about it. The only thing I ever get emotional about is my family. I am kind to everyone but I trust no one. That keeps me from getting hurt.

I savour the adulation and love I have been getting from my fans and the blessings of elders in my family. Fourteen years have given me a lot and I can't thank God and the industry enough.

For a guy who used to steal watches on the streets of Chandni Chowk for kicks, I surely think my success at the age of 22 was pretty early!

Superstars come and go. I want to make sure I am always a producer's actor. I may be refused to be called a great actor but I have never troubled any of my producers in my life. Honesty always catches the camera, and that is what my strength is.

It's my goal to make martial arts compulsory for girls in school. In China, you have to do two years of martial arts' training without which you cannot get a graduation degree.

My love for sports will never die. I love martial arts and I want to promote it in whichever way I can. I am a fighter first, then an actor.

I never feel any pressure about a film. What is meant to happen will happen. I have seen failure as well as success several times.

I like working with south Indian directors because they are very disciplined. They visualize their entire story and screenplay in their heads even before they start shooting, which I respect. They finish their work on time. Being a disciplinarian myself, this suits my style.

On every birthday, I ask my wife, 'What would you like this year?' and her instant reply is, 'Diamonds! Diamonds! Diamonds!' I'm always living in hope that one day she'll say she just wants me!