‘‪Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’: When the film made headlines

After her first outing with Ayushmann Khurrana in an unconventional film like ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, Bhumi Pednekar showed a remarkable transformation and yet again made her presence felt with her second film ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ opposite Akshay Kumar. The film, which dealt with the subject of open defecation for women in India, clicked with the audience. Not only did the film set the cash registers ringing at the box-office, but also managed to spread the necessary message far and wide.
Bhumi's character in the film seems to have inspired lot of women across the country, facing similar problems. Recently, Bhumi met up with some women in Kanpur who are not only up for proper sanitations for women but also are making an effort to spread awareness among other women of their locality in their own unique ways.
Sharing a picture clicked with these women at a Swachh Bharat event in Kanpur on her Instagram, Bhumi captioned the picture as saying, “The Anti-Lota party met these amazing women at a #swachhBharat event yesterday in Kanpur. They actually go every morning & evening and stop people that are about to defecate in the open by flashing their torch light or making noise. Kudos to you amazing women that have taken it upon themselves to bring abt this change. Cause if you change nothing, nothing will change @toiletthefilm.”

While Akshay Kumar’s film ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ is tasting huge success at the box-office, wife Twinkle Khanna posted a picture on Saturday morning on her Instagram account with a caption that will leave you in splits. She captioned it, “Good morning and I guess here is the first scene of Toilet Ek Prem Katha part 2 #WhenYourWalkGoesDownTheToilet” In the picture, a man can be seen defecating openly on Juhu Beach. Twinkle, while taking her usual morning walk, came across the man.

The picture is a direct reference to husband Akshay's film which is a satirical comedy in support of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a governmental campaign to improve the sanitation conditions, with an emphasis on the eradication of open defecation, especially in rural areas.

Akshay Kumar's latest ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ has been dubbed as a 'propaganda film' by some sections but the actor said there is nothing wrong in raising relevant issues, which even the government is concerned about, through cinema. When asked about the criticism levied against the film, Akshay told reporters, "If the government is saying the same thing which is good and if you call that a propaganda, then okay we are doing propaganda. I believe building a toilet is extremely important, especially for women," he said.

He added, "I am talking about sanitary pads in 'Padman' and you'll be sad to know that 91 per cent of women don't use it because they can't afford it. To talk about such things and bring them in the forefront isn't propaganda. You want such issues to be highlighted and talked about."

With 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' releasing worldwide today (11 August), the world winding journey for lead actors Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar has come to an end. A day before the release, Akshay Kumar shared his feelings and thoughts about this enriching journey coming to end with a Facebook post. Today, Bhumi Pednekar followed in Aki's lead and thanked him for making it a "special experience". Bhumi took to Twitter to share a picture with Akshay and a caption that read, “One of the best experiences of my life comes to an end. Thank you so much @akshaykumar sir for making it special for us and team #TEPK”
The stars can now sit back and await the results of their film's box office collections.

Former actress turned designer-writer-producer Twinkle Khanna has shared her experience of watching her husband Akshay Kumar's 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha', on her Instagram account.

In her caption, Mrs Funnybones calls the movie highly entertaining with an important social message. The caption reads, "Saw #ToiletEkPremKatha and loved it! Very proud of Mr K-It's a highly entertaining and equally important movie! #MustWatch"

Today, the wait is finally over for the movie everyone was waiting for. The film highlights basic sanitation problems in our country. Directed by Shree Narayan Singh, the movie stars Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar in lead roles.

Ever since the title of Akshay Kumar’s film was announced, the spotlight was thrown directly at ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ and the film has constantly managed to stay in the news for various reasons. Here’s looking at the times when the film made headlines.

Akshay Kumar was in New Delhi in May and the actor had the opportunity to discuss his upcoming film ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The film, which also stars Bhumi Pednekar, is based on the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. The 49-year-old actor shared a picture with PM Modi on Twitter. The National Award-winning actor also wrote that he was overjoyed when the film’s title brought a smile on PM Modi's face.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani praised actor Akshay Kumar's upcoming release ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ and says it should be made tax free. After watching the trailer, Nihalani tweeted and also shared a photograph of himself with Akshay."Watched trailer of Akshay Kumar's 'Toilet Ek Prem Katha'. Based on true incidents, it promotes Swachh Bharat. Should be made tax free. Super hit," Nihalani captioned the image. The National Award winning actor replied by saying: "Thank you so much Pahlaj ji, that's very kind of you." Nihalani also lauded the choice of films Akshay does. "Your choice of subjects have been extremely good. You are touching diverse social subjects to create positive change in society. Kudos and keep up," he wrote.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi retweeted the trailer, posted by the Khiladi Kumar and wrote alongside, "Good effort to further the message of cleanliness. 125 crore Indians have to continue working together to create a Swachh Bharat". Akshay had originally tweeted, "Here is my humble contribution towards a Swachh Bharat. @narendramodi #ToiletEkPremKathaTrailer @ToiletTheFilm"

After Shah Rukh Khan’s January release ‘Raees’ clashed with Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Kaabil’, his second film of the year – ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ was also set up to lock horns with Akshay’s ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ on the Independence Day weekend. After weeks of speculation, it was finally announced that the latter will release on August 11, 2017, while the SRK starrer would release on August 4, a week before ‘Toilet’.