Actor Akshay Kumar was among the early voters in Mumbai on Monday during the fifth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
In a video, which has emerged on social media, the actor was seen casting his vote at a designated polling booth in Mumbai and proudly flaunting his indelible ink-stained finger. Akshay, who became an Indian citizen last year, spoke to reporters and urged people to go out and vote.
Akshay Kumar expressed his patriotic sentiments in Hindi, saying, “I want my India to be developed and strong. I voted, keeping that in mind. India should vote for what it deems right… I think voter turnout will be good (in Mumbai).” When asked about casting his vote for the first time after obtaining Indian citizenship, the actor enthusiastically remarked, “This is great! I am feeling very good!”
In August 2023, Akshay shared a picture of his government documents, proving that he had finally acquired Indian citizenship. “Dil aur citizenship, dono Hindustani (Heart and citizenship, both Indian). Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind,” Akshay had tweeted.
Reflecting on his journey to becoming an Indian citizen, he told ANI, “For 9 to 10 years I didn’t go there. It’s a very nice place and one of my best friends is there. I decided that I should take my citizenship. It was just a coincidence that I had received a letter on 15th August that I had got citizenship. But it is not just a passport, it is your mind, it is your heart, it’s your soul that has to be Indian. What is the point if I do have an Indian passport but my soul, mind, and heart are not Indian?”
Akshay Kumar had applied for Canadian citizenship in the 1990s after experiencing a series of box office failures. In 2019, he renounced his Canadian citizenship, but the process took a long time to complete due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Akshay explained in an interview, “I became a Canadian because my films were not doing well at one time and I gave 13 to 14 flop films. At that time, my friend used to live in Canada and he said you come here and we will work on something. My friend had offered me that we would do cargo business together. I said okay, my films are also not doing well, and a person has to work, no matter where he is.”
He continued, “When I started living in Toronto, I got a Canadian passport. In between that, two films were left for release. After the two movies got released, they became big superhits. I told my friend that I was going back. Then I got more films and reached here today. But I never thought people got a hold of it, it was just a travel document. I just pay my taxes, and I am the highest taxpayer.”
