Akshay to renounce Canadian citizenship: Times he addressed the issue
What's the story
Akshay Kumar has hit headlines once again.
While the release of his latest film Selfiee is one reason, the other one has possibly grabbed more eyeballs.
During a recent interview, "Khiladi Kumar" addressed the elephant in the room and spoke about finally renouncing his Canadian citizenship, something that has been courting controversy for years now.
Here's the entire context of the story.
Kumar's recent statement
But first, read what Kumar recently said about his citizenship
Kumar touched on the controversial topic while appearing in Aaj Tak's show Seedhi Baat.
He said, "India is everything to me...Whatever I have earned, whatever I have gained is from here. You feel bad when people say things without knowing anything."
He further added that he has "applied for a change of passport once he gets the renounced status from Canada."
Reason
Why did Kumar apply for Canadian citizenship?
In the same interview, Kumar revealed that his friend—who is settled in Canada—had helped him facilitate the entire process.
The Welcome actor's decision to move to Canada had emanated from his films not working.
However, the 55-year-old changed his plans when his movies became superhits and he started getting offers again, thus putting punctuation on his plans of working and staying in Canada.
Taunts
Kumar is mocked and called 'Canadian Kumar' by his critics
Kumar fights a barrage of "Canadian Kumar" taunts each time his film sinks, or he lands into some controversy.
His loyalty and love toward the country, unsurprisingly, is also questioned blatantly on Twitter, and in response to that, Kumar's fans often present data about the hefty donations made by the actor toward Indian soldiers and other national causes.
Perhaps this war will end now.
Kumar's clarification
'My citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy'
In 2019, when Kumar interviewed PM Narendra Modi, he faced the strong wrath of netizens who claimed that "a Canadian cannot interview the PM."
Kumar posted a strongly-worded response on Twitter, "I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India and pay all taxes [here]. I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy."
Indian citizenship process
Kumar's Indian passport process got delayed because of COVID-19
In November 2022, Kumar spoke publicly about his long-delayed Indian passport application.
"I [applied] but everything was shut down for 2.5 years because of that epidemic."
"It saddens me that people continue to insist that I present my passport as proof that I am an Indian. [It hurts me]. Therefore, I applied for it because I don't want to give anyone else the chance."