Actor Akshay Kumar has been receiving flak ever since he defended the film fraternity over the alleged Bollywood drug nexus.
After calling for a boycott on his upcoming film ‘Laxmmi Bomb’ on Twitter, netizens have now opened fire with another trending hashtag #ShameOnUAkshayKumar.
This comes after Twitter users pointed out that the film has been produced by Shabinaa Khan, and that Akshay’s character in the film is a Muslim man who goes by the name Asif. His girlfriend is a woman named Priya.
The flak is in aftermath of the recent Tanishq ad on interfaith marriage that sparked an outrage, resulting the company withdrawing it.
One Twitter user wrote, “Shabina Khan is producer of Laxmi Bomb who is Kashmiri separatist. Aasif (akshay) is possessed by ghost of transgender Laxmi that wears red saree & carries Trishul. Official teaser has Ma Laxmi in backdrop. In non-ghost life, Aasif's girlfriend is Priya. #ShameOnUAkshayKumar”
“Akshay Kumar defamed Our Goddess Laxmi Mata and also promoting Love Jihad in movie.. WHY??.. coz producer of movie is a Kashmiri Terrorist. The Fake patriotic Akshay Kumar is exposed now,” added another.
Here are some more reactions on the microblogging site.
The trailer of Akshay Kumar's return flick to the horror-comedy genre, ‘Laxmmi Bomb’, was out last week, a month prior to its release on November 9, 2020, on Disney+ Hotstar.
The film’s makers of noticed the increasing hate for its lead actor, and decided to hide the number of likes and dislikes on its trailer.
In contrast to 2007 horror-comedy ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, Akshay is seen playing the role of a possessed transgender woman in the three-minute-forty-second trailer. He is also seen sporting a saree for the first time on screen in the remake of Tamil film Muni 2: Kanchana, also directed by Raghava Lawrence.
Akshay is playing the characters of 'Asif' and 'Laxmmi', one is trying to convince the parents of Kiara, while the other has come to take revenge.
While launching the first two looks of his upcoming film, via live interaction the 'Special 26' actor called the genre of the movie his "favourite" and a "passion project".
He said that his character in 'Laxmmi Bomb' as a transgender person is the most "mentally intense" role of his three decade-long career and he had to be careful about delivering his performance "without offending any community".
"In my career of 30 years, this is my most mentally intense role. It has been that tough. I've never experienced something like this before. The credit goes to my director, Lawrence sir. He introduced me to a version of myself which I didn't know existed," Akshay told PTI.
"This is unlike any character I've ever played. I had to be careful to portray this character with utmost honesty, without offending any community," he added.
For 'Laxmmi Bomb', Akshay said, he willingly gave many retakes to ensure that every shot had "maximum potential".
"Even after doing 150 films, I was genuinely very excited to be on set every single day, pushing my boundaries, learning more about myself. This film has taught me to be more understanding about gender equality. Be anything you want, just don't be ignorant. Kindness is key to universal peace today and will always be," he added.
Calling the garment, the "most graceful outfit in the world", the actor said he struggled with the sari during the shoot. He has newfound respect for women who wear sari and continue doing their jobs with ease.
"It was an experience for me to wear a sari. It's extremely difficult to carry it. I was struggling to even walk wearing it. Hats off to how well women manage it," he added.
With inputs from Agencies
