It’s payback time to Martial Arts for me, says Akshay

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai: Known for his daredevil stunts in B-town flicks, Akshay Kumar is famous for popularising Martial Arts in Bollywood. The star who is celebrated for carrying out his own stunts, was recently stunned when rumour mills hinted that the action star made huge moolah for a Martial Arts show that is currently running on an entertainment channel.When enquired about the whole incident, while speaking to a news daily, a miffed Akshay retorted, “What packet, I didn’t do this commercially, I made no packet — why do people say that? In fact, it’s pay back time to Martial Arts for me.” The actor minced no words when he credited his achievements to his parents and Martial Arts as, “Martial Arts is not about kicking ass only, it’s basically about developing self-confidence, mental balance, discipline and respect. I’m not saying do Karate only... you can do anything, take up Judo, follow Aikido, learn Jeet Kune Do, it’s all a good thing, I’m just trying to promote the martial arts as a way of life.” The macho actor recently held a national level Martial Arts tournament in Mumbai and invited sportsmen from various countries as he added, “They came at my expense, I was their host, and the tournament threw up such surprises. Age does not matter in the Martial Arts, there were fighters from the age of six to 66, all actively participating. One eight-year-old boy who was deaf and dumb and is an orange belt, went on to win the silver medal.” Incidentally, the same event is being shown on a TV channel to popularise Martial Arts in the country. Well, the star is vocal in persuading the Indian government to make Martial Arts as a compulsory subject in school like, “Between the first standard and tenth, school students must compulsorily do two years of Martial Arts in these nations.”