Akshaye’s Aura Farming Runs In The Family: Dhurandhar Swagger Meets Parsi Persian Roots & A Quirky Granduncle
Akshaye Khanna's 'Dhurandhar' rise is matched only by the wildly eccentric, witty, and moving family history that shaped him, from cricket legends to theatrical Parsi icons.
Akshaye Khanna is dominating conversations with his understated yet magnetic portrayal of the unpredictable Karachi ganglord Rehmaan Dakait in Dhurandhar. Fans are calling it “aura farming”, the subtle charisma, the underplayed menace, and the quiet intensity that swallows the screen. But beyond the screen, Akshaye’s story is equally fascinating, rooted in a rich Parsi and Punjabi, a mixed lineage and a family history full of quirks, humour, and theatrical eccentricities.
Parsi Pedigree & Broadcasting Legacy
Akshaye’s mother, Geetanjali (Gitanjali) Taleyarkhan, came from a household where public life and cultural authority were family business. Akshaye’s mother, Geetanjali Taleyarkhan, was the daughter of Ardeshir Furdorji Sohrabji “Bobby” Talyarkhan, better known as A.F.S. Taleyarkhan, one of India’s earliest and most legendary cricket commentators. His radio commentaries were exhaustive and superhuman: he narrated entire days of cricket without interruption, making players household names across the nation.
Geetanjali married Vinod Khanna in 1971 after years of courtship. Vinod, born in Peshawar, was a rising actor of Punjabi descent, while Geetanjali brought her South Bombay Parsi heritage into the marriage.
The couple had two sons, Akshaye and Rahul Khanna. Akshaye was five in 1980 when his father left a flourishing career in Bollywood in pursuit of his spiritual journey in the Oregon Ashram of ‘Osho’ Rajnish. In 1985, Vinod Khanna and Geetanjali were a divorced couple.
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That meant the two young boys were practically with the Taleyarkhans in the growing-up years, where dinner table talk was peppered with the kind of humour only the Parsis can get away with.
But the family’s history is replete with flamboyant characters. Rahul Khanna, in his blog Mr Khanna, introduces readers to his mother’s uncle, Darius Taleyarken, a man who redefined eccentricity. Darius, who Anglicised his surname to Talyarken and claimed Persian royal descent, spent decades in London, moving in elite social circles, befriending aristocrats, attending royal dinner parties, and cultivating a life that straddled both the extraordinary and the theatrical.
'Maran Noo Karun, Dhakara': Pretensions As Punchline
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Rahul folds these extravagances into a Parsi-Gujarati quip his family deployed about Darius: “Maran noo karun, dhakara”, roughly, “Cause of death, pretentions.”
The phrase captures the affectionate exasperation with which the family regarded him: part admiration, part eye-roll, part prediction. Darius insisted on burying his photos and letters with him, and yet a box turned up years later in a Cambridge car-boot sale, reuniting the family (briefly) with the man they couldn’t fully read or bury.
Darius had a flair for drama and an eye for style. He insisted that visitors wear Savile Row suits and viewed casual attire as almost criminally pedestrian.
He dismissed Geetanjali’s real name as too “Indian,” insisting on calling her “Tanya,” a small rebellion that left its mark on family stories. Among his legendary exploits: staying up with London elites, keeping company with Russian émigrés, and curiously claiming acquaintance with one of Rasputin’s assassins, delivered with the casual nonchalance of discussing a county cricket match.
Rahul recalls one unforgettable meeting: the flat was adorned with portraits of aristocrats, signed photographs, and an array of documents, all meticulously curated.
Darius’s insistence on decorum, his theatrical airs, and cryptic tales of diplomacy and danger made him simultaneously intimidating and fascinating. Even after his death, a trove of his belongings resurfaced years later, revealing a life lived with panache, mischief, and enigmatic grandeur.
Akshaye's Pragmatic Grief
Amidst this colourful lineage, Akshaye’s connection to his mother remained central. Geetanjali’s sudden heart attack at the family farmhouse in Alibaug in December 2018 was a profound loss.
Only a year before that, Akshaye and Rahul had gone through the loss of their father to cancer.
In interviews, Akshaye has maintained a practical, grounded perspective: “Of course, it would impact anyone. It was a deeply sad time. But everybody has to lose their parents at some point. It is tough. And it is always good that it happens that way, and not the other way round, where parents lose their kid. That would be even worse.”
Why Akshaye Won't Marry: His Words, Not Speculation
And as for Akshaye himself, he has remained unmarried by choice. Speaking to Mayank Shekhar for a Mid-Day interview, he explained, “I have always known instinctively that I would very much prefer to live my life without someone by my side all the time. I find that suffocating. That’s the only reason. I go on dates, all the time. But to commit to a lifetime of togetherness is virtually impossible for me… (Not being serially monogamous, but…) It means knowing oneself reasonably well enough to not ruin somebody else’s life.”
From the cricketing genius of A.F.S. Taleyarkhan to the theatrical eccentricities of Darius Talyarken, and the steady, loving presence of Geetanjali, Akshaye Khanna’s world is one of lineage, wit, and understated glamour.
Ultimately, His Father's Son
On one hand, he carries Vinod Khanna-like swagger: the quiet magnetism.
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Akshaye has managed to make a supporting (or “secondary”) role feel central, shifting the audience’s emotional and visual weight onto him. That feels a lot like Vinod Khanna’s ability to dominate ensemble films through sheer charisma, even if the star billing was shared. On the other hand is the strong grounding from his mother’s Parsi genes.
Akshaye Khanna’s performance in Dhurandhar may have the nation mesmerised, but behind the camera, his story is a tapestry woven with heritage, humour, and heartfelt pragmatism.
(Pandey is a senior independent journalist)
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