Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra feels that the nation needs to build more toilets than mosques and temples. Be it Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha‘ or his own directorial ‘Mere Pyaare Prime Minister‘, films delving into the need to eradicate open defecation are timely. Rakeysh says that “I really don’t know what these films will do, but they are very timely.”
Akshay Kumar’s movie ‘Toilet; Ek Prem Katha’ is trying to spread the social message of Swachh Bharat by delving on the importance of making toilets in an entertaining way. According to the Unicef India, the country has the largest number of people over 564 million still defecating in the open. Nearly about 65 per cent of people in the rural area does not have access to toilets. Even Rakeysh’s upcoming movie titled “Mere Pyaare Prime Minister” will tell a humble story of a slum boy who wants to build a toilet for his mother.
Rakyesh Mehra said these stories go beyond than that of the subject of toilets, he said, “The stories are not about toilets. Stories are about human beings… So, I hope that as a human story, ‘Mere Pyaare…’ can reach out and touch hearts, and move you in a way which is very positive and thereby, the story becomes a part of a collective consciousness, rather than what just might concern a selective consciousness.” He added, “I hope it becomes not just a talking point, but an awareness. Once there’s an awareness, something can be done about it. The voice of the film even tells you that rather than making mosques and temples, it’s more important to make toilets.”
Moreover, he said, “I am not defying a belief… I don’t believe in mosques and temples. I do believe they are essential to a society and people find their peace of mind and spiritual connect… But I also feel that the focus of the nation cannot be kept on that. “It needs to shift now towards giving social security, social benefits to the people of this country… Just making their lives happier.” He added: “Maybe what I am trying to say is that you can go without going to the mosque or temple for a day or even go without a meal, but you can’t just go without going to the toilet every day. I am saying it in a practical way, and not saying it in a frivolous way or like a joke. It’s a simple biological fact of life.”