Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has been on a roll with back-to-back projects for over a decade. The Khiladi Kumar recently announced his Marathi debut in his first collaboration with noted filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar and in a recent media interaction, he opened up about receiving criticism and hatred for his Canadian citizenship.
Akshay Kumar holds a Canadian passport and his movies have always been a target of the growing cancel culture on social networks. While the actor has time and again addressed the criticism and tried to convey that he does not intend to settle in Canada anymore, in the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) 2022 held in New Delhi, he re-instated his stand.
“Having a Canadian passport does not mean I am any less of an Indian. I am very much Indian. I have been here for nine years since I got my passport. And I don’t want to get into the reason of why, what happened, my films were not working, blah blah blah,” said Akshay Kumar at the event.
Earlier, Akshay Kumar had clarified that he had applied for a Canadian passport when he was uncertain of his career in Bollywood after facing dozens of back-to-back box office failures. “I really don’t understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India and pay all my taxes here,” wrote the actor in his Twitter post.
At the same event, Akshay Kumar also opened up about his exit from the upcoming instalment to the cult comedy franchise, Hera Pheri. Breaking his silence on the recent controversy, Akshay added, “Hera Phera has been a part of me and I have good memories about it. Mujhe bhi dukh hota hai ki itne saalon se woh film bani nahi matlab uske aage ka part 3. (I am upset that the third instalment has been stuck for years) We have to dismantle things. We have to start thinking in a different way.”
He further clarified the reason for his exit from the franchise being creative differences. “The film was offered to me and I was told about it. But the screenplay, script and everything, I was not satisfied, not happy with it. I have to do what people want to see and that is why I backed out, I took a step behind,” he added.
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