Akshay Kumar on donating Rs 2 cr towards Assam floods: ‘God has given me a lot of money, kahaan leke jaane hain paise’

This monsoon, the ravaging flood situation in Assam wreaked havoc with over 90 human lives lost and hundreds of animals killed in the famed Kaziranga National Park. Calling it a “heart-breaking” situation, actor Akshay Kumar was among the first to donate Rs 2 crore for the same. The actor gave a crore each towards the Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, and for the rescue work in Kaziranga National Park.

“Honestly, jab maine paise diye, I didn’t feel good. But I felt really good when I got a call from the Assam Chief Minister (Sarbananda Sonowal), who told me that, ‘aapke donation ke baad, bahut saare aur bhi logon ne donation diya.’ That made me happy. I really feel that our nation is an amazing one. If there’s ever any problem, you just have to start something and then there’s a ripple effect. You know, when I worked on ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ app, you can’t imagine how many people made donations. India is a large-hearted nation. We just need a little push,” says the actor.

Recently, an Assamese singer, Bornalee Deuri thanked Akshay on the Kapil Sharma Show for his donation. Says Akshay: “One of the images that really affected me was of a mother holding her baby on her shoulders and wading through the flood waters. There was no expression of sadness or stress on her face. And that’s a dangerous sign. What all she must have gone through that she forgot all her sorrows. When I come across such photos, I am like, ‘it can happen to my wife or my daughter.’ Aisi photos bahut choobhtin hai. That’s why I did what I did,” he says.

Animals’ plight, too, has “moved” Akshay. “I also saw some images of animals like rhinoceros, who were drowning, dying and screaming. We should all come together during such times – regardless of whether you can donate Rs 2 or 5 lakhs. That’s how a country is made. And humanity is all about that. I admit that God has given me a lot of money, so I give away without thinking twice. Kahaan leke jaane hai paise,” he wraps up.

Work-wise, Akshay – whose latest film, Mission Mangal has crossed Rs 100 crore mark In India today – has an envious line-up ahead – Housefull 4, Good News, Sooryavanshi, Laxmmi Bomb and Bachchan Pandey followed by Prithviraj Chauhan. “See, agar yeh films chal gayi toh [line-up] accha hai. Otherwise, koi kucch nahi kar sakta with any sort of line-up of films. You know, a great man had once said, ‘you will keep going up and down, and down and up in life.’ So, it’s all good, as long as I enjoy the journey,” says the actor.

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