Akshaye Khanna's birthday: Our favorite comic roles of the actor

In his 25-year-long long career, Akshaye Khanna has infused life into several roles: comic, romantic, intense, and negative. Last seen in Drishyam 2, he is recognized as one of the most underrated actors of his generation, someone who is worthy of more stardom, fame, and author-backed roles. As he turns 48, we walk down memory lane and revisit his best comedy roles.

Fronted by Khanna, Amrish Puri, and Kareena Kapoor Khan, Hulchul is the story of four brothers who are barred from marrying or even falling in love, because their father wants them to embrace bachelorhood all their lives. Khanna had a meaty role in this multistarrer and his constant bickering with Kapoor Khan and the camaraderie with Arshad Warsi emerged as the film's instant takeaways.

A comedy of errors with immense repeat value, Priyadarshan's Hungama lives on in viewers' hearts. And, who can forget Jeetu from Videocon? In this ensemble comedy that starred Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Shoma Anand, Shakti Kapoor, and others, Khanna didn't let himself be overshadowed by anyone and shone brightly in every frame, particularly when he fought with his arch-rival Nandu, played by Aftab Shivdasani.

Let's face the fact: We are all secretly Tees Maar Khan fans, aren't we? The Farah Khan directorial proved that the absurd can be entertaining too, only if executed with the right amount of zany humor. In this film, Khanna played Aatish Kapoor, a Hindi film superstar who has only one goal in life: to bring the Academy Award home, come what may!

Even though Mere Baap Pehle Aap isn't one of Priyadarshan's best works and had mostly received mixed reviews upon its release, it does serve as another excellent example of Khanna's comic timing and chemistry with his co-actors, especially Rawal, who played his father. The film co-starred Genelia Deshmukh, Rajpal Yadav, Archana Puran Singh, and Om Puri. Watch it on MX Player or Voot.