Mumbai, April 11, 2025 – Akshay Kumar broke his silence Thursday on Jaya Bachchan’s sharp critique of his 2017 hit Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, delivering a measured yet pointed response at the Kesari Chapter 2 press meet. The veteran actress had trashed the film’s title at an India TV conclave, calling it a “flop” and saying, “I’d never watch a film with such a name”—a dig that’s had netizens buzzing for weeks. Akshay? He’s not biting back hard.
“If she’s said it, then it must be right,” Akshay quipped, per Hindustan Times, when a reporter flagged Jaya’s remark. “If I did something wrong with Toilet, she’s probably spot on—I don’t know.” But he didn’t stop there—defending his social-issue flicks, he added, “Only a fool would criticize films like Padman, Airlift, Kesari. They’re from the heart—teaching, changing.” The room hummed; Jaya’s barb had clearly struck a nerve.
The film, a sanitation crusade wrapped in a quirky love story with Bhumi Pednekar, raked in Rs 316 crore worldwide (Box Office India), proving Jaya’s “flop” tag off-base. Fans on X erupted— “It’s a hit, check the numbers!”—while producer Prerna Arora had earlier snapped, “Ma’am should see the figures” (The Indian Express). Jaya’s beef? “Toilet” in the title—too crass for her taste, despite its Swachh Bharat nod.
Akshay’s no stranger to pushing buttons—Padman tackled periods, Toilet took on open defecation. “We try to shift things,” he said, noting the government still screens Toilet in villages. Jaya, 76, last seen in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, doubled down at the conclave—only four hands up when she asked who’d watch it. “Sad—flop,” she’d smirked.
