Akshay Kumar on Monday faced severe flak from netizens for not casting vote when his wife, actress-turned-author Twinkle Khanna was spotted at a polling booth in Juhu alone.
Several prominent Bollywood stars came out to vote Monday as polling was held for six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, but Akshay was not seen among them.
During a media interaction on the sidelines of Blank movie’s special screening in Mumbai on Tuesday, Akshay was asked about how he would react to the criticism over his absence from the polling booth.
In his response, the actor simply smiled and told reporter, “Chaliye Beta,” before walking off.
Reaction of deshbhakt @akshaykumar when asked about Voting by a Journalist proves he is a Canadian. pic.twitter.com/nuzGlKyTMl
— Bollywood Junction (@mAyUrStUdIoS) May 1, 2019
Kumar was in news only a few days ago with his “non-political” interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
For a very long time, there has been speculation about the actor’s nationality, with many claiming that he holds Canadian citizenship.
Last month Modi had tagged Akshay in a tweet, asking him to encourage voting.
To which, Akshay had responded saying the “true hallmark of a democracy lies in peoples participation in the electoral process. Voting has to be a superhit prem katha between our nation and its voters.”
On Monday, the actor came in for trolling. Many pointed out that the hero of films like Kesari, Toilet Ek Prem Katha and Airlift, which had nationalistic overtones, seemed to have given voting a miss.
Taking a sly dig at the actor, one user tweeted, “Has anyone seen Deshbhakt @akshaykumar voting today?” While another wrote, “When is the true blood real nationalist idol Akshay Kumar voting?”
Has anyone seen Deshbhakt @akshaykumar voting today ?#MumbaikarVoteKar
— Prakul Sharda (@prakulsharda) April 29, 2019
Non political citizen of india @akshaykumar on voting day 😂✌️😂 pic.twitter.com/uudAzjeUDc
— Shahab Khan (شہاب خان) (@shahabkhanamu) April 29, 2019