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Elections in India are termed as the ‘dance of democracy’. The season of polls is sacred to not just politicians but every individual who is equally committed to ‘dance’ to this tone of ‘democracy’. However, certain people of this nation are unable to celebrate this biggest festival of a democratic republic.

 

The amusing connection of Bollywood and politics tend to grab eyeballs. Actors joining politics is nothing new. Some even take part in campaigning for their near and dear ones— a recent instance is of Actor Neha Sharma conducting a massive roadshow in Bihar’s Bhagalpur in support of her father Ajit Sharma, who is contesting on Congress’s ticket from the Lok Sabha seat.

 

Unfortunately, some Bollywood celebrities are not even eligible to cast their ballots. However, they are free to participate in various antics of the political landscape.

 

Actors, namely, Akshay Kumar to Alia Bhatt to Jacqueline Fernandez to Katrina Kaif and others are not eligible to cast their votes because they own citizenships of other countries.

 

India’s voting rights are restricted to Indian citizens only. So if an India-origin is employed abroad or is living in a foreign country without becoming its citizen then S/he is eligible to participate in the electoral process of the country by casting a ballot. However, if one has acquired another country’s citizenship then one misses out on the right to vote in India.

 

Akshay Kumar, also touted as the ‘Khiladi’ of Bollywood, has been heard encouraging people to vote. During 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tagged Kumar in a social media post asking him to encourage voting.

 

To which Kumar had replied saying “true hallmark of a democracy lies in people's participation in the electoral process”. 

 

The statement made by Kumar holds substance but certainly not for him as his Canadian nationality forbids him to cast his ballot. On delving deep, it was found that Kumar had shifted to Canada for doing a Cargo business on the advice of his friend as his films were not doing well at the box-office. So while living in Toronto, he got a Canadian passport which has restricted Kumar to exercise his franchise in the country. Thus, for Bollywood’s Khiladi, as he says, “voting [can never] be a superhit prem katha between [him] and the [nation]."

 

Actor Alia Bhatt, who has made her name in the Indian film industry has British citizenship which she inherits from her mother Soni Razdan whose birthplace is Birmingham, United Kingdom. Although Bhatt in an interaction with Gal Gadot — Israeli Actor —  has emphasised that despite her British lineage, she is deeply connected to Indian culture. However, she cannot participate in the biggest festival of India. Bhatt’s mother Razdan, in an interview, reflecting on her family’s history, underscored her German roots and her family, especially grandfather Karl Hoelzer, resisting the fascists.

 

Katrina Kaif, another notable figure in Bollywood, owns British nationality. She was born in Hong Kong to a British businessman of Kashmiri descent and an English lawyer. Kaif moved to London and then came to India to pursue her acting career. Hence, her British citizenship disqualifies her from exercising franchise in Indian elections.

 

Sri Lankan citizenship of Jacqueliene Fernandez because of being born to a Sri Lankan father and Malaysian mother forbids her from voting in Indian elections. Her presence in the Indian film industry cannot be denied, still she cannot be considered eligible to vote. Notably, she started her career as a journalist in Sri Lanka and later went on to become a model and won the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant in 2006.

 

Actor Imran Khan is an American by birth. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, whose father was a software engineer and mother a psychologist. After Imran’s parents parted ways, he moved to India and given his familial connection with Aamir Khan, he made his career in Bollywood. However, in spite of his contribution to Bollywood, his American citizenship bars him from casting a ballot in India.

 

Sunny Leone has successfully integrated into the Indian film industry and her popularity among Indian audiences is known to all. However, her Canadian-American citizenship does not allow her to vote in Indian elections. She was born in Canada to an Indian Sikh family.

 

The ‘dance of democracy’ has its own relevance in nation building. However, the dancing diva of Bollywood, Nora Fatehi is elusive to the exercise voting in India. She hails from a Canadian-Moroccan background as she was born to Moroccan parents and raised in Canada. Despite her contribution to the Indian cinema, Nora’s Canadian citizenship does not make her entitled to vote in Indian elections.

 

Nargis Fakhri’s American citizenship bars her from voting. She was born in New York to a Pakistani father and a Czech mother which make her American and, thus, ineligible to vote in Indian elections.

 

Similarly, Kalki Koechlin’s French nationality, Portuguese nationality of Ileana D’Cruz, which she acquired in 2014, and is in sync with her family’s history in Goa debars these celebrities from being a part of the universal adult franchise.