'India is a very exciting country'

'To start walking on the path towards making India a better nation, we don’t need to take giant strides. Small steps, taken regularly – even when it is not convenient to do so – will work just as well,' says Actor Akshay Kumar, in our special series where well-known Indians speak about their India.

We have so many different cultures in India, yet we all stay together in harmony.

We speak so many different languages. We have such varied geography and so many different kinds of cuisines.

All this makes India a very exciting country.

I like the fact that we still cherish our heritage and hold it close to our hearts.

I have met a lot of Indian people who have a heart of gold.

This is what I like about India.

But when I look around and see our infrastructure, it makes me very unhappy.

As a citizen of this country, I believe we are entitled to a certain standard as far as infrastructure is concerned.

I’d particularly like to talk about Mumbai, where I stay. It is a tragedy that one of the world’s most important cities has such terrible roads. Something should be done about it as soon as possible.

Returning to the larger picture, I would really like to see youngsters get more involved in politics. It would be wonderful to see them stand up for what is right and fight against what is wrong in our great country.

To start walking on the path towards making India a better nation, we don’t need to take giant strides. Small steps, taken regularly – even when it is not convenient to do so – will work just as well.

To that end, this is what I will do:

To my fellow Indians, I pledge that I will do at least one good deed every single day.

Each day, I will help a different person from among the people who cross my path.

Life is hard, we all know that.

But I have been blessed, so it is my duty to spread my blessings to those who need a little bit of tender love and care.

Akshay Kumar is one of India's leading actors who has acted in over 100 films. His latest film Boss opened earlier this month.

He spoke to Savera R Someshwar.

The complete series: Why I love India