Actor Akshaye Khanna, who is gaining plenty of appreciation for his performance as a gangster in Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, is known for his candid admissions. After the success of Dhurandhar and the critical appreciation for his performance in the film, old interviews of the actor are resurfacing online. In one such interview, Akshaye reminisced about how he entered the film industry. The actor revealed that he forayed into the film industry not out of persuasion by his family, and that he decided to do this during his teenage years out of his own interest. "My father wanted me to continue my education," Akshay said, referring to the legendary Vinod Khanna.

The actor also recalled an incident where director JP Dutta approached him for a role in Border and him feeling nervous about it before eventually signing up for the film. Later, Vinod Khanna told Akshaye that he would make a film for his son, as the legendary actor found it challenging for a newcomer to start their career with a multistarrer. Subsequently, Akshaye made his debut with Vinod's production, 1997's Himalay Putra. His performance in the film earned him the Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male.

Despite getting a strong entry into cinema, Akshaye said that he had very little success early on in his career because of his choices. "I did wrong films. I chose wrong scripts. It was a mess," Akshaye Khanna admitted.