From Airlift to Toilet Ek Prem Katha: Gender equality in Akshay Kumar's recent movies

Akshay Kumar has been vocal about issues related to women safety. The actor's concern about the upliftment of women reflects in his recent choice of films too. Female characters in Akshay Kumar's films give us a ray of hope.

Here are 5 films where his leading actresses actually mattered.

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha

The film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha has just released and people are already going gaga over the unique storyline of the film. The story revolves around the leading lady who is the love of Keshav's life. While it is Keshav who brings about a change in the village and build toilets, it is his wife Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar) who raises the issue.

In fact, she makes Keshav understand the importance of cleanliness and development. It is generally expected that women should be adjusting to situations at her husband's place but the stand Jaya took right after getting married shows the kind of strong-headed woman she is.

 Airlift

Airlift was loved by the people and was appreciated all over for the refreshing story and Akshay's acting. However, one may not have noticed how strong Nimrat Kaur's character Amrita Katyal was. The character was a high-profile independent lady with strong opinions. In fact, in the movie, there comes a point where he argues with her husband trying to prove her point. And, when the time arises and she feels that her husband's actions are right she stands by him. The leading actress goes hand in hand with the lead actor's character.

Jolly LLB 2

In Jolly LLB 2, there are two powerful female characters- the lead actress of the movie Huma Qureshi playing the role of the wife of Jagdishwar Mishra(Jolly), Pushpa Pandey and the other one is that of a pregnant widow character Hina Siddiqui played by Sayani Gupta. The lead female character Pushpa proudly kept her own surname after marriage and is also seen to be living the life according to her own terms. Also, she is a woman who is vocal about her desires and at the same time has the strength to forgive the mistakes of her husband.

On the other hand, the pregnant widow character Hina is strong enough to seek justice despite the fact that she had limited resources and was fighting almost single-handedly. Both the female characters were strong and unique in their own ways.

Rustom

Akshay Kumar's Rustom is based on the real-life incident of Naval Officer K M Nanavati. His amazing portrayal helped him bag the National Award. The movie, however, revolves around Cynthia Pavri(Ileana D'cruz) the wife of Commander Rustom Pavri (Akshay Kumar). The story is set in the late 1950s but the woman character is strong. She even had the guts to speak the truth. Moreover, the treatment given to the woman character who asks for forgiveness after cheating on her husband is praiseworthy.

Naam Shabana

Well, the movie itself is woman-centric as the name suggests. The character Shabana is brilliantly played by Taapsee Pannu. She is an agent who takes revenge by killing the people who killed her boyfriend. The strong-headed woman seeking revenge to give her boyfriend the deserved justice was well portrayed. Akshay Kumar played a cameo in the movie.