Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and Yuva Sena President Aditya Thackeray on Tuesday inaugurated a public toilet, fully funded by the actor following a tweet from wife Twinkle Khanna, at the famed Juhu Beach.
The bio-toilet, costing around a million rupees, was handed over to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
"Good morning and I guess here is the first scene of Toilet Ek Prem Katha part 2 #WhenYourWalkGoesDownTheToilet," said Twinkle's sarcastic tweet on August 19 last year, showing a picture of a man defecating in public.
Though the tweet evoked mixed reactions, with many complaining about her lack of compassion for the poor, it spurred the action hero Akshay into serious activity and he decided to fund a bio-toilet complex at the beach.
Tweeps, @akshaykumar ji & I have made a small contribution to our dear city. We chose to add privately to the efforts of the BMC by making a public toilet in Juhu, handed it over to the BMC now. Small contribution but just the beginning! (1/2) pic.twitter.com/WYuEneAJRu
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) April 3, 2018
I’m very very thankful to @akshaykumar ji for being such an ever inspiring friend & a real life hero in contributing to the society. Free self defence classes for women (more than 15k girls trained till date), our mission of fitting 100 sanitary pad machines & now this! pic.twitter.com/tBbvUR2ds1
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) April 3, 2018
The toilet has a running water facility and separate enclosures for men and women.
Akshay described the effort as "a small contribution on his part to our dear city... but just the beginning" which is expected to be a boon to several thousands of locals and tourists who throng Juhu beach daily.
Thank you @AUThackeray for being a constant support in all our endeavours together 🙏🏻 We do make a good team :) https://t.co/taaH5GaLht
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) April 3, 2018
Aditya Thackeray lauded the initiative after Akshay's free self-defence classes for women, 100 sanitary pad vending machines and other social contributions.
Here is the tweet for which Twinkle was trolled last year. She was accused of "mocking the dignity of men" but Twinkle being Twinkle, managed to see the "ironical" side of it and posted the same photo again in another tweet.
Good morning and I guess here is the first scene of Toilet Ek Prem Katha part 2 #WhenYourWalkGoesDownTheToilet pic.twitter.com/tfyTQs8BFM
— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) August 19, 2017
While Akshay Kumar's efforts are being widely appreciated, some on Twitter have offered certain suggestions about the placement of the recently installed mobile toilet. "Appreciate the efforts of Aditya /Akshay Kumar but the toilet is wrongly placed. Slum dwellers defecate 1 km (towards the end) Versova /Juhu beach. Two public toilets already exist within 500 metres from the new one. New toilets are needed towards the end stretch of both beaches," read a tweet.
1. I found the timing ironical with ToiletEPK's release and the OD free certification-If you see the sardonicism in it-fine!If not-so be it pic.twitter.com/LH6IoyKeDF
— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) August 22, 2017
Last seen in PadMan, Akshay Kumar's impressive line-up of films include 2.0, Gold and Kesari.