Actor Akshay Kumar on Monday faced a huge backlash after he urged people to not play Holi in view of the rising cases of COVID-19 in parts of India. No sooner did Akshay take to Twitter asking people to stay away from Holi celebrations, the right-ring brigade began to give him grief.
Twisting a line from a famous Holi song featured in one of his films, Akshay wrote, “Do me a favour let’s not play Holi! Celebrate at home, for your safety and the safety of your loved ones. Wishing you all a very Happy Holi.”
However, this did not go down well with Hindutva fanatics, who incessantly trolled the actor by mocking him with the ‘Canadian citizen’ jibe.
.@akshaykumar and @humasqureshi play Urduwood chhaap Holi taking out daaru bottle from blouse: “Go Paagal”
Lyrics by toolkit hero & CAA protestor @raftaarmusic
Now they preach us not to play Holi
(Still searching for an Eid song with such creativity)pic.twitter.com/epZp9YaPMk https://t.co/DhjFaIAv37
— Gems of Bollywood (@GemsOfBollywood) March 29, 2021
Akshay Kumar if you can’t say something on Eid and Christmas then please don’t tell us that how we play holi #पूर्ण_बहिष्कार_अक्षय_कुमार pic.twitter.com/r2xU0GStxG
— Team Hindu United (@TeamHinduUnited) March 29, 2021
Do me a favour Akshay Kumar please stop insulting hindu Gods and hindu festivals.#पूर्ण_बहिष्कार_अक्षय_कुमार pic.twitter.com/ujwEs6jr0F
— Team Hindu United (@TeamHinduUnited) March 29, 2021
Be whatever you want, but never become a hypocrite like Akshay Kumar. This man has been bandwagon all his life with no moral values and ethics. Then acts like a saint.
— JUST A FAN. (@iamsrk_brk1) March 29, 2021
Rt and say with me
Who Is Akshay Kumar ??#पूर्ण_बहिष्कार_अक्षय_कुमार pic.twitter.com/1m2XVxeHND
— Its_vikrama_Aditya (@vskutwal7) March 29, 2021
While some members of the Hindutva social media foot soldiers came to his defence reminding netizens about his support for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, this did not stop others from calling for Akshay Kumar’s boycott in the future.
Akshay has long faced criticism from India’s liberal ecosystem for his proximity to and silence on several questionable policies by the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was even invited by PM Modi to interview him ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.