Akshay on a cycle to promote Khatta Meetha

To promote their films, stars these days are adopting new means to reach out to audiences.

Film star Akshay Kumar, whose new film Khatta Meetha is due for release, is visiting different cities for its promotion. And as part of this promotion campaign, the actor rode a bicycle symbolising the character of a common man he is playing in this film in Pune on Saturday.

Khatta Meetha is a political satire on the municipal and constructions dealings in India told through the life of a contractor Sachin Tichkule.

But unlike the common man, who will go unnoticed on a bicycle, Akshay Kumar had to face a lot of difficulty.

Akki could not find his way, as a large crowd that had gathered to see him made it impossible for him to even ride a few metres.

The actor struck an instant chord with his enthusiastic fans by speaking in their local language Marathi.

"Jai Maharashtra. It is not that I am learning Marathi, I know the language very well. I have a strong connection with Pune, in fact my first film was shot here. I am happy to be back in Pune," said Akshay.

Later talking to reporters, Akshay Kumar said that there is also a message in the film on how corruption is deep rooted in our system and which is why we can't even have good roads as the contractors have to bribe so many people.

"I think you should visit Mumbai and see the condition of roads there. It's pathetic and I came to know that it was because the contractors just cannot do quality work because they have to bribe so many people. But it's how the system works. There is a message in our movie and if we are able to get it through this will serve our purpose," he said.

This is Akshay's second release of 2010 after Housefull. Khatta Meetha, which also has southern actress Trisha is set to hit theaters on July 23.