Speaking at a panel during the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2019, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar said on Friday that he has applied for an Indian passport. Kumar holds a Canadian passport currently – to comply with Indian citizenship rules, he will have to give it up.

Kumar has often been criticised for the nationalism that he portrays in his movies, considering that he is not an Indian citizen. The actor also narrated the story of what led him to acquire a Canadian passport in the first place.

“It makes me very sad that despite being an Indian, I need a small notebook to prove it,” Kumar said. “It hurts me. But, I don’t want to give anyone even that chance, so I have applied for it.”