Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has received Indian citizenship, years after his Canadian citizenship came under intense scrutiny. The actor took to social media on Independence Day to share the news. “My heart and citizenship are now Indian,” Kumar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Akshay had lost his Indian citizenship 12 years ago when he was granted Canadian citizenship by the Conservative government in 2011 as part of improving relations with India in the field of culture and cinema. Although he applied for Indian citizenship in 2019, the process was delayed due to the pandemic restrictions.
The actor had revealed that he decided to move to Canada when his films were a failure at the box office. “India means everything to me. Whatever I am today, I owe this country. And I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to give something back. In the 90s my career was going badly. “At least 15 of my films have hit the box office,” the actor had said, adding that he moved to Canada because one of his friends lived there. “Soon after, two of my films achieved gold at the box office. So my friend told me to go back to India and pursue my acting career. I got a few films. I even forgot I had a passport. And I never thought about changing this passport,” said the actor.
“Pop culture fanatic. Introvert. Devoted food trailblazer. Bacon geek. Lifelong coffee evangelist.”