Bollywood star Akshay Kumar on Friday opened up about a deeply unsettling experience involving his teenage daughter, using the personal incident to spotlight the growing menace of cybercrime targeting children.
Speaking at the inauguration of Cyber Awareness Month 2025 at the Maharashtra State Police Headquarters in Mumbai, the actor recalled how his 13-year-old daughter was approached by a stranger while playing an online video game a few months ago.
“She was playing with an unknown person. Suddenly a message appeared asking if she was male or female. She replied ‘female,’ and immediately the stranger asked her to send nude pictures,” Akshay revealed. “She shut the game down at once and informed my wife. This is how it starts. This too is a form of cybercrime.”
The actor’s candid revelation drew attention to the often-overlooked dangers lurking in the digital world. Expressing concern over the rapid rise of such crimes, he warned that online offences are now outpacing street crimes in scale and impact.
Urging the government to act swiftly, the Welcome star appealed for cyber safety to be included as a weekly subject in schools, specifically for students between Class 7 and 10. “There should be a dedicated ‘cyber period’ where children are taught about these threats. It is crucial to stop this crime before it grows further,” he said.
Akshay shared the stage with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, State Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla, senior IPS officer Iqbal Singh Chahal and actress Rani Mukerji, all of whom were present for the launch of the awareness drive.
