When Akshay Kumar almost married this actress; Suneel Darshan reveals ‘conditions’ that ended…
A longtime collaborator of Akshay Kumar has finally spoken about the quiet terms, family pressure, and a twist of fate that altered the actor’s personal life forever.
Long before Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna became one of Bollywood’s most solid couples, the actor’s personal life looked very different. Back in the 1990s, Akshay and Shilpa Shetty were one of the most-talked-about pairs in the industry. Their growing closeness sparked headlines everywhere, and for a while, marriage seemed like the natural next step. But as filmmaker Suneel Darshan recalls today, a set of conditions changed everything.
What did Suneel Darshan reveal after all these years?
In a conversation with Bollywood Thikana, Suneel Darshan revisited the time when Akshay and Shilpa were almost ready to take the plunge. He shared that an astrologer close to Rajesh Khanna had predicted Akshay would eventually marry Twinkle Khanna. Yet at that moment, Akshay’s life seemed firmly intertwined with Shilpa’s.
“Look at the coincidence, had Shilpa’s parents not placed those conditions, life would have taken a different turn,” he said. When asked what those conditions were, he kept it simple but telling: “As parents, whatever the parents need for the security of their daughter, that’s not wrong.”
Pressed further on whether the demands were about financial security, Suneel replied, “Security of all kinds, all parents want that.” But he also added that he personally felt it was “wrong of them,” concluding, “It simply wasn’t meant to happen. Let’s leave it at that.”
How did their relationship finally end?
The filmmaker revealed that the breakup happened around the time of the shooting of Ek Rishta. Contrary to the heartbreak narratives that circulated back then, Suneel said Akshay wasn’t shattered. “His heart was not broken. I thought he was doing well. He was coming back,” he recalled.
Today, Akshay Kumar stands in what many call his powerhouse era. In 2025, he delivered hits like Sky Force and Kesari Chapter 2, followed by big-scale entertainers such as Housefull 5 and Jolly LLB 3. The coming years look equally charged, with Bhooth Bangla, Haiwaan, Hera Pheri 3, and Welcome To The Jungle lined up—along with three films in collaboration with Priyadarshan.
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