We have seen Akshay Kumar act in all manner of films where he takes on the baddies, protects the nation against infiltrations and plays the military man convincingly. We have also seen him voicing his love for the country via statements in the media and starred in various adverts that cement his desh-premi stance. It turns out, however, that the Indian actor is actually a Canadian national!
He may be born in India and may be one of India’s best known stars and also one of Bollywood’s top paid actors, but he currently holds a Canadian passport.
There were media reports about Akshay Kumar being detained at UK's Heathrow airport while the authorities checked the details of his Canadian Passport! Apparently, Canadian citizens do not need a Visa to get into the UK while Indians do. Kumar was in the UK for the promotion of his film Rustom. A source accompanying the actor said, she was ‘not sure why the media are sensationalising this'…. Really??
He may have won a National Award here in India, but apparently he has a “strong affiliation with Canada”. He also claims to have a “dual citizenship”. (To be clear, there is no bar over a foreign national winning a National Award; so long as this is for an Indian film.)
Claiming to have dual citizenship is rather odd because Indian law does not permit dual citizenship. In fact the law of the land clearly states that if one acquires the citizenship of another country; they cease to be Indian citizens.
There is some controversy that Deepika is not an Indian citizen either by virtue of being born in Copenhagen, Denmark. However, there are videos in existence where she clarified that she currently holds an Indian passport and is proud to do so.
She was born in the UK and continues to be a citizen of UK. She would have had to give up her British passport to become an Indian citizen; which she has so far not done. So, even if she wishes to, she cannot cast her vote here in India.
He was born in Wisconsin, US and continues to be an American national. His Wikipedia page describes him as an “American film actor who acts in Hindi films”.
…That actors such as Sunny Leone, Katrina Kaif, Nargis Fakhri and Jacqueline Fernandez are holders of foreign passports. They were born abroad and have lived outside India most of their lives. They simply work here now. They did not choose to give up their existing Indian nationality in favor of becoming citizens of another country.
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