Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who is currently basking in the success of his film OMG 2, on Tuesday announced that he has once again become an Indian citizen, a news that he shared with his fans on Independence Day. The superstar, who often faced criticism over his Canadian citizenship, shared a photo of his Indian citizenship certificate on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, "Dil aur citizenship, dono Hindustani (Heart and citizenship, both Indian). Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind!"
According to a report by PTI, Akshay Kumar had previously said that he went through a lean phase in his career in the 1990s when he delivered over 15 consecutive flops and it pushed him to apply for Canadian citizenship. His citizenship status had come under intense scrutiny after he did not vote during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The matter also became a topic of debate after he conducted a "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the elections.
During an event earlier this year, the actor revealed that he had applied for an Indian passport. "India is everything to me. Whatever I have earned, whatever I have gained is from here. And I'm fortunate that I get a chance to give back. You feel bad when people say things without knowing anything," he said during an interaction with AajTak.
"I thought that my films are not working and one has to work. My friend was in Canada and he said, 'Come here'. I applied and I got in. I had just two films left for release and it is just luck that they both became superhit. My friend said, 'Go back, start working again'. I got some more films and forgot that I had my passport. I never thought that I should get this passport changed but now yes, I have applied to get my passport changed," he added.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Akshay will next be seen in the yet-to-be-titled Hindi remake of Soorarai Pottru. The film also stars Radhika Madan and Paresh Rawal in pivotal roles. He will also be seen in the action thriller film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan alongside Tiger Shroff which is all set to hit the theatres on the occasion of Eid 2024 in his kitty. Akshay will be reuniting with Riteish Deshmukh for the fifth installment of his hit comedy franchise Housefull.