Toilet – Ek Prem Katha: Akshay Kumar’s Tribute To ‘Swachh India’

New Delhi: From the moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ in 2014, it has been the topic of much debate, and now it looks like the ‘Swachh Bharat Fever’ has hit Bollywood too. Akshay Kumar has just started shooting for his latest film, ‘Toilet- Ek Prem Katha’ directed by Neeraj Pandey, and co-starring Bhumi Pednekar and a toilet. In fact, judging by the picture the actor tweeted, the toilet seems to be sharing as much screen space as the leads.

The government plans to construct 12 crore toilets in rural India, to achieve its goal of being open-defecation free by 2 October 2019. According to government figures, the Swachh Bharat push in rural areas has increased the access of toilets to 46.9% from only 32.6% in 2011 across the country.

Earlier, in a bid to make ‘Swachh Bharat’ a people’s movement, PM Modi had initiated a chain by inviting nine eminent personalities to spread awareness on cleanliness. Among those nominated were film actors Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Kamal Hassan, industrialist Anil Ambani, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, yoga guru Ramdev and the team of TV serial “Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma”.

(In Pictures: Two Years On, What Is The Status Of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?)
Now it seems to be Akshay Kumar’s turn to spread the Swachh India message through the tongue in cheek film Toilet – Ek Prem Katha.

The movie will hit the big screen in December this year.