The auditorium of a college in Kottayam resounded with the buzz of students awaiting the arrival of a guest for their college function. The guest expected was young actor Akshay Radhakrishnan, who shot to fame through his character Ayyappan in the Mammooty starrer Pathinettam Padi. Soon, Akshay walked in and all conversation immediately ceased; for tagging along with him was another invited guest, who proceeded to snatch the limelight away from Akshay, all to himself. Akshay was left royally ignored by the students, but the actor instead of getting irritated was smiling from ear to ear. The star of the show was Akshay’s one-year-old pet Indie fur baby Veeran. This was not the first time that Veeran was sharing the stage with Akshay, where he was specially invited. But in a surprising turn of events, a teacher from the same college put a social media post advising everyone to be wary of inviting Akshay for any function since Veeran would also be part of the package and that he would loiter aimlessly and dirty the stage.
A surprised Akshay says, “I have attended numerous college functions where Veeran was specially invited by the students. The same was the case here. Veeran was invited along with me for the function and normally, he is very disciplined and trained since he lives in my house. But much like a human baby, he would have lost control and relieved himself which was a first for him. What saddens me is that the teacher could have expressed her angst to me personally and I would have apologised to her. Instead, a social media post was put which read like I had walked in uninvited to the college with Veeran in tow.”
Akshay replied to the offended teacher’s comments with a touching post of Veeran’s importance in the actor’s life. He mentioned that after his parents and sibling, Veeran meant the world to him and was someone who loved him unconditionally.
In fact, a glance through Akshay’s social media feed will surely give a glimpse of the bond the actor and his pet dog share – the duo goes to wedding receptions, travels to far off places together and even walks the ramp together. When everyone loves nothing more than flaunting their pedigree dogs, Akshay has dedicated an Instagram page for Veeran who is an Indie. Akshay talks of his bond with Veeran, “I found him in Aluva when he was just a month old. I was going through a depressive phase and his presence made all the difference in my life. A lot of positive things happened in my life after Veeran’s entry.” Akshay adds that when the world was against him, it was only Veeran who was his sole support and comfort.
Right now, Akshay is happy with the support pouring his way for Veeran and himself from netizens. He adds, “There are negative comments, too. By and large the response is positive. I am happy that the younger generation is more understanding of the bond that humans share with their pets,” he says. Akshay is indeed a hero and an example to many other pet parents.
