He is no Khan, Kapoor or Bachchan. He is Akshay Kumar, an actor who for long has been known to be one of the most bankable but underrated actors of Bollywood. During a press conference of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which is set to hit theatres tomorrow, a reporter asked him a question that he has been asked numerous times: How do you manage to look so young in front of new age actors Bhumi Pednekar, Huma Qureshi and Ileana D’Cruz?
In his usual humble tone, the actor, who grew up in Delhi, mentions that living simple is what he believes in. “There’s not much science to it. I have only one job in life and that is to make films and take care of my family. I feel there’s no stress in my life. Even when I was living in Chandni Chowk, we were 22 people living in a one-bedroom house and were happy. We all used to follow the same principle of taking less stress and living happily,” says Kumar and adds, “I try to be fit and work out regularly. I eat sensibly and avoid meetha as much as possible. One should always try to live a simple life.”
Akshay is one of the top actors who has consistently been open to working with new directors. From Airlift and Jolly LLB 2 to Rustom (which won him a National Award), he has been part of films with a wide range of topics and treatment.
Speaking about Shree Narayan Singh- directed Toilet and how he took up a film which highlights the issue of open defecation in India, the actor says, “Around 8-9 months ago, 54 per cent Indians didn’t have a toilet at home. And the number has now come down to 32 per cent. I am glad that we have been able to bring the cause this far. We now live in times where no girl agrees to get married to a person whose house has no toilet. Gone are the times when women used to sit back and listen silently. These are the times of equality.”
Open defecation, says Kumar, is a cause not restricted to villages alone. “Defecating in the open is directly related to our health and us. It would be wrong to think that it is a problem in villages only. It is there in cities as well. If you see carefully, city dwellers are more prone to diseases than village dwellers. The target to achieve clean India is everyone’s responsibility,” he explains.
While it was previously reported that the Central Board of Film Certification asked the film for eight cuts, the actor clarifies that the censor board asked for only three verbal cuts.
“I too was surprised to read the news about eight cuts. That information is completely wrong. The film was asked for three verbal cuts, one of which was removing the word h*r**mi from the film,” he clarifies.
