Mumbai, Sep 3 - Akshay Kumar maintains that women are stronger than men when it comes to mental strength and says he chose Twinkle as his life partner because she has the courage to 'kick' people in the 'butt'.

'I didn't fall in love with my wife because she could dance around a tree. I fell for her strength as an independent woman. She kicked butt at school and she could do it now if she wanted. She is fearless to the outside world and I think it's a great perception for women,' Akshay told IANS from Italy where he is currently shooting for Sajid Khan's 'Housefull'.

Akshay is making a comeback on the small screen as the host of level two of the serial 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' and reveals there were a number of instances during its shooting when he was simply dismayed with the way male participants performed stunts.

'In fact, I had to shout at the guys for some of their pathetic attempts. You should watch how many times men get rescued by their female partners on this show. On the other hand, women were much controlled in the situations they found themselves in.

'While men tend to believe that brute strength can get them everywhere, the fact is it was women who got them there in the end,' said the actor.

He feels that women's mental strength also comes to play in physical activity - something which reflected in their performances when compared to men.

'I have said this quite a few times now that I believe women to be way stronger than men. It's high time that our society gave them credit for this,' said Akshay when asked if one of the major reasons for doing 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' was that he found it empowering for women to go ahead and face the challenges of life.