11 April,2011 08:46 AM IST | | Upala KBR
Hosted by Akshay Kumar himself
Akshay Kumar held a trial of his latest release Thank You for the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.
The screening took place on Friday at a theatre in the city of Brampton.
Says a source close to the actor, "This would be the first Hindi film that the Canadian premier has watched. AK has the highest regard for him."
Akshay Kumar with Stephen Harper at the Thank You trial in Brampton, Canada
The source adds that Harper's public apology to the Sikh community three years ago for the Komagata Maru incident deeply impressed the star.
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It was one of the PM's first acts since coming to power. "Harper wants Indo-Canadian relations to improve and AK welcomes that."u00a0
The actor continues in his role as the Canadian Tourism Commission's ambassador for India for the second year. As such, Akshay would be using his celebrity status in India to promote Canada as a touristu00a0 destination.
The source present at the screening says, "Akshay plays an Indo-Canadian detective in TY and the film has been shot in Canada.
Hence, the actor was very keen that the the PM watch the film. Prominent Canadian and Indian dignitaries also watched the screening."
Interestingly, Akki refers to Canada as his second home.
THE KOMAGATA MARU INCIDENT
In 1914, Japanese steamship, the Komagata Maru, sailed from Hong Kong to Vancouver. It carried 376 passengers from India; all Punjabi. They were not allowed to land in Canada and were forced to return to India. This was the one of many incidents of exclusion practised by the US and Canada against the South Asian in the early 20th century.
LAST YEAR...
Akshay and wife Twinkle had lunch with the Canadian Prime Minister and his wife Laureen during their visit to India. The Canadian PM was keen on meeting the actor, the sole Indian torchbearer for the Winter Olympics held in Vancouver in February 2010.
