The world is celebrating International Men’s day today on November 19. Unlike the International Women’s Day that falls on March 8, International Men’s Day is not well-known. However, as much as we try to celebrate the role of a woman in society as a mother and a nurturer, the men also have a very integral and important part to play in the family and society.

Although our society is primarily patriarchal, there are quite a few men who are trying to change and bring equality in the world with whatever small measure they can employ. Here are our few leading actors who are cool role models for men and who are trying to change the world one step at a time.

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Akshay Kumar the macho man who is in tune with his sensitivity

[caption id="attachment_130128" align="aligncenter" width="825"] Akshay Kumar in PadMan[/caption]

Akshay has done an almost 180-degree turn with his films. He is no longer associated with crass and nonsensical films that objectify women and portray them as sexual objects. With recent films like PadMan, Naam Shabana, Toilet-Ek Prem Katha the actor has taken on himself to portray women’s issues. He is a macho man who is in touch with his sensitive side. One of the biggest and most praise-worthy scenes from his film PadMan is when he chose to wear a sanitary pad in the film, an act which 99 percent of men will say no to. He chose to do a brief cameo appearance in the film Naam Shabana just to ensure that the film has a big name attached to it as it was a female-driven film.

During the Bengaluru New Year’s Eve molestation case he came out and criticized the entire incident and made every one of us look at ourselves and question our morality. Akshay also gives self-defense classes to women in the city so that they can learn to defend themselves if they find themselves under any untoward incident.

Shah Rukh Khan the gentleman for all seasons

Shah Rukh is the ultimate gentleman and charmer. Not once has any woman or co-star pointed fingers at him for not being chivalrous or gallant. He was also the first actor to have his heroine’s name appear first in the film’s credit bursting another egotistical equation of most actors. His characters in films are always courteous towards the women and do not resort to stalking or pressurizing them in agreeing to a relationship. His personality is worth emulating.

Aamir Khan the voice of social issues

Aamir took a stand and backed out of a project when he came to know that one of the collaborators on the film has sexual misconduct allegation against him. In a way, he started the ball-rolling for hotshot actors and producers to finally take a stand on the ongoing #MeToo movement in the country. He along with his wife Kiran Rao also sat in a meeting of the Producers Guild of India and eventually formed a committee to combat workplace harassment issues. He has also hosted shows like Satyameva Jayate that brought many social issues to the fore.

Ayushmann Khurrana the man who made taboo topics perfectly normal

Ayushmann is not as big a star as the other three above but through his films, he has brought many taboo topics and social issues in the mainstream commercial cinema making the society a better and an open place. With films like Vicky Donor, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Shubh Mangal Savdhaan and now Badhaai Ho, Ayushmann has proved that it is high time issues like sperm donation, test-tube babies, fat-shaming, erectile dysfunction and sex and having kids at an advanced age should no longer be brushed under the carpet but talked openly and should be accepted.

Farhan Akhtar a force who stood by women

When Tanushree Dutta came out to allege that Nana Patekar sexually harassed her and started the #MeToo movement, Farhan was the first leading actor who openly supported her and the other victims. It was another thing altogether when he was caught off guard by the fact that his cousin Sajid Khan was also named in the movement by several women. However, Farhan has been an outspoken champion of women’s equality and is a voice that usually raises the right questions. He has founded an NGO called Men Against Rape and Discrimination or MARD which is a social initiative designed to create awareness to instill gender equality and respect towards women.