10 times Akshay Kumar proved he had a heart of gold

Team India lost the Women’s World Cup by a whisker in the promising final on Sunday, but their fans could not be any more proud as the ladies put up a fitting fight on the field. While millions of hearts broke with their unfortunate loss, actor Akshay Kumar met the players to cheer them up. The actor, who was in London for the promotions of his film ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ a few days ago, ran barefoot to catch his train to make it for the match on time. The star even got an opportunity to meet the ladies post the final and share a light moment. He shared his picture along with the caption, “Even Broken Hearts Can Laugh!! These Women have started a Revolution and I couldn't be more proud #WWC17Final.”

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar was in the news for featuring on Forbes list of highest-paid celebrities. The star featured on the 94th spot, earning an estimated $31.5 million. Akki starred in ‘Airlift’ and ‘Housefull 3’ this year, and both films performed well at the box office. While the actor is raking in the moolah, he makes it a point to give it back to the society. We have drawn up a list of his charitable works, which proves that the ‘Khiladi’ has a heart of gold.

Early this year, Akshay Kumar rallied for the welfare of stuntmen in the film industry. The actor, who is known to perform his own stunts, reportedly made a pact with producers he works with, to pay the stuntmen the same amount he is paid to do particular stunts. The sudden death of an international stuntman reportedly affected him gravely, which lead Akki to secure insurance for the stuntmen in the film industry.

Akshay is known to have a big hand when donating money to aid several causes. Last year and early this year, the actor donated a sum of Rs. 90 lakh to help drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra. It is believed that the plight of the farmers was brought to his notice by a top cop. The actor was moved by their plight and immediately expressed his desire to help 180 families of farmers who had committed suicide.

Last year, Akshay extended a helping hand to the rain ravaged people of Chennai, by donating Rs. 1 crore for relief work. With a little guidance from his friends, the actor donated the substantial amount to the Bhoomika Trust, which had been preparing and distributing food items when rains wreaked havoc in the region.

Akshay’s charitable works also crosses borders. The actor and his wife Twinkle Khanna helped raise funds for ‘Community Chest of Hong Kong’. According to reports, the star didn’t charge the organisation any fees for his act that included a bike stunt. He was later given an acknowledgement letter from the community.

Apart from providing monetary donations, Akshay also did his part to make people self-reliant. The actor launched the ‘Women’s Self Defence Centre’ in Mumbai, a martial arts and self-defense training school for women, completely free of charge. The centre imparts self-defense training to women of all ages and also caters to children. It has reportedly 4,000 women till date.

Akshay Kumar’s charitable works go beyond helping people. The actor donated Rs 3.60 lakh for an animal welfare organisation ‘Youth Organisation in Defence of Animals (YODA)’. This donation was made around the release of his film ‘Entertainment’, which featured a Golden Retriever. The stars put their movie costumes on sale to help raise funds for the organisation.

While hosting the television show ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’, Akki reportedly donated a sum of Rs. 25 lakh to an eliminated participant. The actor was moved when he heard the reason why the young lad took part in the reality show. Akshay had asked the participant what he would have done with the winning amount, to which he replied saying, “I will use it for my father’s cancer operation.” That was all it took for the actor to console with the participant and to sign a cheque with the said amount.

Akshay auctioned one of his suits from the hit film 'Oh My God', to help an NGO cover 60 per cent of their cost in funding one of their pre-primary school's annual budget. He let his fans know about the initiative through his twitter handle by saying, “Someone has rightly said, 'No one has ever become poor by giving'. And taking that thought forward, I'm auctioning one of my suits from 'Oh My God'.” He went on to say, “The proceeds of this will go to Muktangan, who currently needs Rs.15 lakh to cover 60 percent of one of their pre-primary school's annual budget for the academic year 2012-2013. Come join me, spread the word and let's 'Fund the Change'.”

In a rather unconventional way, Akshay helped raise funds for a research organisation working with children and individuals with special needs, by auctioning off his time. The actor collaborated with an online marketplace for the auction that required fans to bid on this charity auction, to spent time with him over breakfast at a five-star hotel.

Actors may turn singers for their films, but have you heard of an actor who lent his voice to a charitable cause? Akshay sang a Punjabi devotional song titled ‘Nirgun Raakh Liya’, shot a music video, and donated the proceedings to the victims of the July 11 2006 train bombings in Mumbai.