Akshay Kumar donates Rs 25 crore to coronavirus relief fund

Akshay Kumar has pledged to contribute Rs 25 crores to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's coronavirus relief fund. The actor took to social media to share the news and wrote, "all that matters is the lives of our people".

When we reached out to him to know more about this significant contribution, he tells us, "You can call it my weakness or whatever, but I am never able to express my feelings or thoughts behind gestures of contributing to a cause."

Mention to him how he is always the first one to stand up for such causes and lead by example, Akshay adds, "Main kaun hota hoon 'charity' yah 'donate' karne waala? (who am I to donate or make any charity?)". Doosri baat ki hum apni country ko Bharat Maa kehte hain. Mera yeh contribution actually mera nahi hai. Yeh meri maa ki taraf se Bharat Maa ko hai. (We address our country as Bharat Maa. So this contribution is not from me. It is from my mother to my motherland, Bharat Maa.)"

Known for films such as Airlift, Mission Mangal, Kesari among others that brought to screen patriotic flavour, the actor says he will always stand up for the safety of his motherland. "It's important that I refer to my mother here because poori duniya mein ek fear hai that senior citizens will be ignored and left to themselves during this coronavirus crisis. Hum yeh soch bhi kaise sakte hain. Meri maa ki jaan important hai, aapke maa baap ki jaan important hai. (How can we even think like that. My mother's life is important and so is the lives of your parents.) No matter who we are, trying to save every single life is critical right now. Maine sirf iski taraf apna ek chhotta sa farz ada kiya hai (I have only done my small bit towards this cause)," he says.

Soon after the actor pledged to contribute, PM Modi replied to his tweet and wrote, "Great gesture @AkshayKumar. Let's keep donating for a healthier India."

Not just that, even his wife, Twinkle Khanna, lauded his gesture and tweeted in her signature witty style. "The man makes me proud. When I asked him if he was sure as it was such a massive amount and we needed to liquidate funds, he just said, 'I had nothing when I started and now that I am in this position, how can I hold back from doing whatever I can for those who have nothing'," she wrote.