Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar on the 77th Independence Day shares picture that he finally gets Indian Citizenship after holding Canadian citizenship for a long time now. 

"Dil aur citizenship, dono Hindustani. Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind!," the actor wrote while sharing the certificate of registration on his social media handles.

The actor has often been criticised for his Canadian citizenship like questioned him for his love for the country, India. 

"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...," Mr Kumar had said in an interview with news channel Aajtak.

In one of his interviews last year on August 2022, the actor talked about his Canadian citizenship.

The actor said that a few years ago his movies were not doing well and one of his friends suggested him to work in Canada instead. He then decided to go out since his destiny was not really working here for him in India. In fact, all the paper work was done but then later, his movies were starting to do well and he had to cancel his idea of shifting to Canada for work.

“A few years ago, my films were not working. Almost 14-15 films had not worked so I thought I should probably move elsewhere and work there,” he said.

Akshay also said that, "There's a lot of people who go outside for work but they are still Indians from the core of their heart."

"I am an Indian and I always will be. What is a passport? The passport is just a piece of document that allows you to go from one country to another," he added.

The Khiladi actor also said that, "I am an Indian and pay all my taxes. In fact, I pay the highest taxes and in here (India). Even though I have a choice to pay there as well, I pay here and I work here in my own country.”

He further says that, "A lot of people say things. Well, they're allowed to. But all I want to say to those people is that I am an Indian and I will always be, no matter what you guys say.”

In 2019, Akshay Kumar spoke about his Canadian citizenship and tweeted, “I really don’t understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others. I would like to continue contributing in my small way to the causes that I believe in and make India stronger and stronger.”

Akshay Kumar applied for his citizenship back in 2019 but due to the pandemic, the process got delayed.

On the work front, Akshay Kumar's "OMG" 2, which also stars Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam, was released in theatres last week.

The movie had earned at over Rs 12 crore as of Monday at the box office.