Akshay, Aditya kickstart their self-defence initiative for women

Akshay Kumar and Aditya Thackeray announced the launch of their initiative, Women's Safety Defence Centre, on Friday afternoon. 

The actor said that their idea was to give free coaching to women in self-defence so they can fight off untoward advances from men. The batches will start at Andheri Sports Complex on June 29 and the actor will double up as visiting faculty once in a while too. At the onset, Akshay maintained that their's was not a political alliance, but a human alliance

"I've been wanting to start an initiative like this for a few years now and have suggested it to national leaders. I'm glad that Aditya feels the same and is equally eager to take this forward," said the superstar, adding that while the initial batches will be held twice a week, they will increase the number of sessions and venues in the coming months. When questioned if he has been a witness to any eve-teasing incident, the actor recalled, "Once, while I was going somewhere with a friend, I saw a man misbehaving with a lady. I stopped my car and got out and hit the guy." About the kind of training that will be given to women, he explained, "There won't be particular outfits/uniforms for the sessions. 

The self-defence techniques will be in keeping with what women wear in their day-to-day lives. Also, they'll be trained to be alert so if need be they can use the props around to ward off the attacker. Besides, they will also be taught to not give anyone a chance to catch them unawares.. like not sitting in their cars and messaging on phone, because someone can attack while their attention is on the phone."

When asked if he felt the content and projection of women in films was also to be blamed, Aditya said, "Films are fictional. If a film has terrorist using bombs, does it mean that you will also do the same in real? Likewise, if there's a scene in which a man is teasing a woman, doesn't mean that you do the same too. Actors are aware of their responsibility as idols. That's also why Akshay has been pushing for such an initiative for women."

Copyright: timesofindia.indiatimes.com