Making headlines for interviewing Modi, Akshay Kumar conspicuous by absence as wife twinkle votes

PTI, Apr 30, 2019, 9:33 AM IST

Mumbai: Several prominent Bollywood stars came out to vote Monday as polling was held for six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, but Akshay Kumar was not seen among them.

Kumar was in news only a few days ago with his “non-political” interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the hero of films like “Kesari”, “Toilet Ek Prem Katha” and “Airlift” which had nationalistic overtones, seemed to have given voting a miss.

Questions sent to Akshay’s spokespersons about whether he voted met with no response. For a very long time, there has been speculation about the actor’s nationality, with many claiming that he holds Canadian citizenship.

His actor-author wife Twinkle Khanna cast vote at a booth in Juhu Monday, but Akshay wasn’t seen with her. It did not go unnoticed on Twitter. Last month Modi had tagged Akshay in a tweet, asking him to encourage voting.

“The power of a vote is immense and we all need to improve awareness on its importance. Thoda Dum Lagaiye aur Voting ko Ek Superhit Katha banaiye,” the PM had said. 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. “Shahrukh Khan has to prove his patriotism though he can vote. Akshay Kumar is mascot of patriotism, though he can’t vote,” one tweet said. “Asking for a friend. Which polling booth can Akshay Kumar be spotted casting his vote?” asked journalist Rana Ayyub on Twitter.