Our film received only three cuts from CBFC says Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar today (9) said his film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification with only three cuts.

There were reports that the film certification body had asked for eight cuts but Akshay said reports were not correct.

"I read somewhere that we have been given eight or nine cuts. But it is not true. We have been given three verbal cuts. I was surprised to read the news about eight cuts in the film," the actor told reporters during a promotional event for the film.

Prime minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan forms the basic premise of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha but Akshay said he did not do the film solely on the merit of the script.

The 49-year-old actor will be seen playing a husband trying to win his wife back by building a toilet for her in the house.

"The script of the film came to me. The writer narrated me the story. I made the film as I liked the script and not because someone asked me to make it. It is different that when Modi ji came to office, he began the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyana'.

Our film is similar to his mission," he said.

Akshay, who has been made the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttar Pradesh, said the clean India movement requires the participation of the whole country.

"The cleaning mission may have been started by him (Modi) but it is a topic for all of us to follow. We have to keep our country clean. It is directly related to us and our health."

The movie, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, also features Bhumi Pednekar and Anupam Kher. It will release this Friday (11).

Talking about her experience of working with Akshay and Kher in her sophomore film, Bhumi said she learnt a lot from the duo about life.

"It was a privilege to work with them in my second film.

They set such good examples for somebody like me, who is so new. They are so dedicated. The most important thing that I learnt from them was to be happy."

After playing a small-town girl in her debut film Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Bhumi will be again seen in the similar space in "Toilet". But the actress said she did not mind it.

"Seventy per cent of our country lives in small towns.

The kind of films, which are being appreciated today, are heartland stories. I am lucky that I got these films."

Kher is happy to be a part of a movie like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha as it is a film which is entertaining as well as gives a good message.

The veteran actor believes it is the "golden time for Indian cinema" and credits the evolution of the audience for this change.

"I think the audience today is so dedicated that one can experiment with any subject. It is a golden time for Indian cinema. You can make a film like this (Toilet) with a mainstream actor and it is fantastic to be part of it.

"It is not that good films were not made before but the audience has evolved. Now, people go and watch films, which are entertaining and also respects the credibility and sensibility of the audience," Kher said.