Actor Akshay Kumar has often been criticized as ‘Canadian Kumar’ by social media trolls for his Canadian citizenship. The Khiladi of Bollywood earlier promised his fans that he would soon apply for an Indian passport and years later, he has an update to share. He feels bad when people say things without knowing the reason for his taking up Canadian citizenship, Akshay told Aaj Tak. He has finally decided to renounce his Canadian passport. The actor has applied for the same and is awaiting to change his tag of 'Canadian Kumar'.
"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...," the 55-year-old star said. He further added, "I thought that 'bhai, my films are not working and one has to work'. I went there for 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 I kept getting more work. I forgot that I had the passport. I never thought that I should get this passport changed but now yes, I have applied to get my passport changed and once I get the renounced status from Canada...", shared Akshay.
Akshay, known for his films such as "Hera Pheri", "Namastey London", "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha" and "Padman", also spoke about a lean phase in his career when he delivered more than 15 flops. This was in the 1990s. The poor box office performance of his films pushed him to apply for Canadian citizenship, he said.
On the work front, Akshay Kumar is all decked up for his upcoming comedy-drama Selfiee. The Raj Mehta directorial also stars Emraan Hashmi, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty in pivotal roles. The movie is slated to release on 24th February.
