CM has done well but a lot more is required

My kids are reluctant to go to their parents’ home town — I come from Kanpur and their mother from Lucknow. They complain about power woes and broken roads in Kanpur, poor hygiene and lack of civic sense. We want them to remain connected with their roots but I have no answer to their queries and complaints.

UP’s woes: Electricity, roads, unemployment, infrastructure,… problems are aplenty. Rural areas have their own set of woes. Things have started improving but metros, stadiums, highways and other infrastructure facilities must have come much earlier. Lucknow will soon have its Metro but had these been done earlier, my parents would have seen it too. However, CM Akhilesh Yadav has done well in development and governance despite the family feud and other resistances but a lot more need to be done.

Suggestions: Every day, so many UPites come to Mumbai for work. They live in bad conditions, run from pillar to post for work and even face the wrath of parties like Shiv Sena, MNS, etc. If they have enough work in their home town and state then why will they come? We need to improve on everything — power, industries, medical facilities, education, infrastructure, etc.

In Bollywood: A lot of people make fun of my state on my face, which pains me a lot, but I balance it by cracking jokes on myself and the problems faced by the state. Now, with people from Mumbai coming here more and so many shoots happening in UP, their perception is also changing. They are giving subsidy, facilities and tax sops to films. It’s high time a film city too becomes a reality in Lucknow. I have spoken to the CM about this and am ready to offer help.

On politics: I have decided to stay from mainstream politics and will not fight elections. I have been nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. There is a proposal to get me involved with Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao mission, where I will actively take part. If any such work is given to me by the central or state government, I will be happy to take it up. BJP has recently nominated me as one of its “star campaigners” and will take up the job as I believe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work.