Akshay, Alia, Jacqueline: Bollywood’s ‘Foreign’ Voters
Did you know that Alia Bhatt, Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone can’t vote in India?
As Mumbai goes to vote for the Lok Sabha elections today, all the citizens are getting ready to cast their votes. Even Bollywood celebrities are sharing photographs of their inked fingers, urging everyone to vote. However, do you know why Akshay Kumar, who has been a loud patriot on social media, is always missing on voting days? The actor holds a Canadian passport, and hence does not have voting rights.
Akshay Kumar
Surprised? While Akshay Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab, he grew up in Delhi. Before he became a Bollywood star, he was learning martial arts in Bangkok. He’s never misses an opportunity to play a patriot, in films and on social media. But he can’t vote in India. That’s because he holds a Canadian passport and had to give up his Indian citizenship for the same. Canada offered him citizenship with great honour and since India doesn’t recognise dual citizenship, he decided to give it up.
But he’s not the only celeb holding a foreign passport.
Alia Bhatt
Badrinath Ki Dulhania Alia Bhatt doesn’t hold an Indian passport either! She’s a British citizen and so is her mother Soni Razdan. So Alia Bhatt can only cast her vote if she gives that up and gets an Indian citizenship and passport.
Imran Khan
Actor Imran Khan, Aamir Khan’s nephew, can’t cast his vote in his country of residence because he holds an American passport.
The list doesn’t end here. Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Sunny Leone are not Indian citizens either.
Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif is a British national, and her father hails from Kashmir. She is not a citizen of India.
Sunny Leone
Even though Sunny Leone has won hearts in India, the actor does not hold Indian citizenship rights. Sunny was born in Ontario, Canada.
Jacqueline Fernandez
The Kick actor was born in Bahrain. Her father is a sri Lankan whereas her mother is of Malaysian descent.
Nargis Fakhri
The actor, who made a roaring debut opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Rockstar, cannot vote as as she's half Czech and half Pakistani.
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