I was nervous for the first 30 seconds, says Akshay Kumar

How many times have you seen an A-list actor wearing a panty with a sanitary napkin in it and checking himself out in the mirror? Well, Akshay Kumar is different and has his heart in the right place. The actor, who is all set to bring in another revolution with Pad Man, doesn’t shy away from trying out spaces which his competitors won’t even think of attempting. He’s the best at juggling films, belting out four films every year on an average and is definitely not someone you can slot into a particular category anymore. He is no longer just the quintessential romantic Hindi film hero or the macho action star, he’s a blend of both and much more. We talk to the Khiladi about his unconventional choices. Over to him...

During Airlift, you had said you wanted films like these to have an audience. Today, such movies are doing tremendously well. Are you happy?

Now, the audience wants change and I’m happy they think that way. The society requires it. Yesterday morning, I was just checking the pollution levels in Mumbai. I’m sure none of us know it but it’s 372, which is huge. These are issues that need to be talked about. The fact that cinema is watched by so many people makes it better. I’m sure more filmmakers will be ready to explore such spaces.

You are someone who has successfully juggled and made unconventional the new convention today...

The reception has been really good. Whether it’s an Airlift, Rustom, OMG: Oh My God! or Special 26, which I had started off with, it’s been fantastic. Actually, if you see, I started it usse bhi pehle, when I made 8X10 Tasveer with Nagesh Kukunoor. The film didn’t see much success but I was clear that I wanted to make cinema which was different from what I was doing, because this gives me a chance to do diverse things. For commercial films like Rowdy Rathore, you can only go one way as they are uni-dimensional. But these movies (the ones that I’m doing right now) are different. The dimensions, your roles and characters change completely. For some films like Baby, it was a different genre and you can’t compare it with Pad Man, which again isn’t similar to an Airlift or The State vs Jolly LLB 2. So, you get a lot more breathing space to try out new and exciting stuff.

You are not slotted into any particular category because of your choices. What really is the parameter for you?

It’s just the script, the character and the screenplay. How it’s being told, what is being told, does it have a value to it and can I feel it at all — these things matter to me. And it automatically happens with me. If I feel it, I’ll do it. It doesn’t matter who the director is — how big he is or whether he is new. After all, this is team work and we have to take the movie to a place.

You played a gay character in Dishoom. Now, we will see you wear a sanitary pad in Pad Man. Is it a conscious move to break stereotypes?

When I played a Parsi in Rustom, I didn’t talk the way they usually do in films. I know many Parsis who don’t speak like this. Movies make them look caricaturish. At times, kharab hi kar dete hai. When they have a Bengali character, they make them speak differently. It’s not how people talk usually. I have never liked that. So, I don’t feel the need to adhere to stereotypes.

Were you apprehensive before doing the scene where you wear the panty?

The first 30 seconds into the shot, I was a little nervous. But then, I was totally fine and I had no issues with it at all. It was just like any other scene.

But it’s brave of a superstar to do something like that, especially because the society considers all this unmanly. Comment.  

That is the challenge, na! Why is it a taboo or unmanly? Why can’t we just break these glass walls? They need to be broken. It’s as natural as a guy getting cuts and blood oozing out. I don’t take any of it to be unmanly. We need to change the way we think. 

There’s a huge debate about how sanitary napkins should be made tax free. Do you think Pad Man will bring about a change? 

I want a bigger change. Forget tax free, it should be completely free. Women strong, country strong and to make them strong, you have to make sanitary napkins free and easily available to them. Because of the cost, so many women use bhusa, raakh and dirty clothes to stop bleeding. It’s not hygienic. For all this, there needs to be a budget which can be one or two per cent of the defence budget. If you have that, women are stronger and they give birth to healthier children and eventually, men too become strong. It’s a simple cycle. When there’s a tree, you don’t start cutting the tree’s leaves or branches. You need to nurture the root, which is what we all forget. Physical roop change karke kya hoga?