Akshay receives karate honour

Akshay Kumar has been awarded a sixth degree black belt in Kuyukai Gojuryu Karate at a ceremony in Mumbai.

Kumar, who will next be seen in Anthony D'Souza's Blue, also picked up a 'Katana' (sword) from Grandmaster Shihan Hirano Osamu and Mehul Vora, the organiser of the first invitational National Open Karate Championship.

He told The Times of India: "It's a privilege to be receiving this honour. Karate is a part of my soul and to be honoured with something as precious as a 'Katana' is something I hadn’t even dreamt of."

Blue, which is scheduled for release this Friday, also stars Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan and Lara Dutta.