Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who has often been criticized for his Canadian citizenship, says India is everything to him and he has already applied for a passport change.
He feels bad when people say things without knowing why he took Canadian citizenship, Akshay said of Aajtak in an interview on the first episode of the new season of Seedhi Baat.
“India is everything to me… Whatever I’ve earned, whatever I’ve won, comes from here. And I’m happy that I get the chance to give something back. You feel bad when people say things without knowing anything…,” said the 55-year-old star.
Akshay, best known for films such as Hera Pheri, Namastey London, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Padman, also spoke of a dry spell in his career when he flopped more than 15 times. That was in the 1990s. The poor box office performance of his films prompted him to apply for Canadian citizenship, he said.
“I was like, ‘Bhai, my films aren’t working and one has to work’. I went there to work. My friend was in Canada and he said, ‘Come here’. I applied and got in.
“I only had two films left for release and it was just lucky that they both became smash hits. My friend said, ‘Go back, start working again’. I got a few more films and got more and more work. I forgot I had the passport. I never thought I should have this passport changed but now yes I have applied to have my passport changed and once I get waiver status from Canada…”
Akshay’s citizenship became a topic of discussion after an interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2019 just before the Lok Sabha elections.
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