You may zero in on some obvious names such as Jacqueline Fernandez and Nargis Fakhri not being Indian citizens but did you know that Alia Bhatt just holds a British citizenship? Yes indeed! And in fact there are many other Bollywood celebrities who hold citizenship of other countries because either they were born there or they have voluntarily opted to be overseas citizen of India. Now usually there’s not much talk about the citizenship of Bollywood celebs but since this factor plays a great role in their right to vote and other functions, yes, it matters. But isn’t it possible to have a dual citizenship you may ask. Well, it is possible but under very special circumstances. A dual citizenship of India and another country can only be given to children of foreign diplomats who were born in India and that that too during their time of their parents’ service in the country and to a minor child of Indian origin who may decide within 6 months of turning 18 about their preference for Indian citizenship.
After rumours of Deepika Padukone not being able to vote in elections started doing the rounds as the actor was born in Denmark, she posted a picture of herself definitely putting the speculations to rest. She shifted to Bengaluru with her parents a year after she was born and her nationality is Indian. Check out the cheeky and honest Instagram post by her telling people not to be confused on her behalf:
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Alia Bhatt
The Kalank actor was not able to vote in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 as she holds a British passport. Since her mother Soni Razdan is of British origin (she was born in Birmingham, England) so Alia had acquired the British citizenship.
Speaking at an event, Alia had revealed that she was well past the date to get the official documents for voting but she will try getting her voting card the next time once she gets her dual citizenship (hey, but that’s not possible Alia!). Nevertheless, the Raazi actor has been encouraging the youth to vote because she feels that they can bring a change.
Katrina Kaif
Born in Hong Kong to an English mother and British father of Kashmiri descent, Katrina Kaif has been working in India since 2003 and is of British nationality. Earlier there were many stories around the Bharat actress' parental parentage and Ayesha Shroff (Jackie Shroff’s wife) who was the producer of her debut movie Boom had said that stories of her ancestry had been created to give an Indian link. Katrina had been offended by her comments.
Jacqueline Fernandez
Born in Bahrain to a Sri Lankan father and mother of Malaysian descent, Jacqueline Fernandez won the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant and even represented her country in USA. She had aspired to become a Hollywood star but now she is a known name in Bollywood and also stars in Sri Lankan movies.
Nargis Fakhri
The Rockstar girl calls herself a global citizen because of her mixed ethnicity. Nargis Fakhri’s father Mohammed Fakhri was of Pakistani descent who had moved to the United States and her mother Marie is Czech. Nargis was born in New York City and is an American national. She has revealed that her interest to work in Bollywood arose from the wish to be closer to her Pakistani roots since the countries share almost the same culture. She is dating American filmmaker Matt Alonzo and will be next seen in the flick Torbaaz alongside Sanjay Dutt.
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Evelyn Sharma
She may have been born to a Punjabi Sharma father but from her mother’s side she is German and holds the citizenship of the European country too. Born in Frankfurt, model and actress Evelyn Sharma had made her Bollywood debut in the 2012 movie From Sydney with Love.
Apart from these known names, other celebs like Sapna Pabbi (British) and Amy Jackson (British) are not Indian citizens. Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar has also been trolled for being a Canadian citizen and not voting in the Indian elections because of that.
What do you think? Should these Bollywood celebs give up their citizenship to become India nationals or is it okay for them to keep working in the country while holding passports of other countries?
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