Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has got flayed by social media users including some leaders for his remarks asking people to not play Holi in the wake of the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and to celebrate at home for safety reasons. He took to Twitter and made his appeal even as several states and cities across the country had banned Holi celebrations at public places as the country has been witnessing the possible second wave of the viral infection.

Though some had welcomed his appeal over the concern of rising in cases, the others didn't receive it well as they had strongly criticized the actor by claiming that he had attacked the Hindu festival and culture. Castigating the actor, some social media users had called the people to watch the movies on Telegram at home instead of going to the theaters in the wake of the virus spread. 

Akshay Kumar took to Twitter on Monday and 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." Following his Tweet, former Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay had slammed the actor and said, "Do us a favour. Keep shut". Some of the other users had also voiced against the actor that he can't preach about celebrating Holi by being a Canadian citizen. 

It's not the first time that such criticisms were leveled against celebrities under the guise of religion. Earlier, when environmental activists or others urged people to play with dry colors during Holi and not use water, a section of people would argue that this is discriminatory towards a Hindu festival and the same kind of cautionary statements are not made before other religious festivals.

While Akshay Kumar had run through trouble from some people including former parliamentarian for what they claimed that his statement had gone against the Hindu religion and culture, others had highlighted that the actor's words were misunderstood and he was simply asking people to be careful and cautious in the time of the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Do us a favour. Keep shut.

— Tarun Vijay தருண் விஜய் भारत के वीर सैनिकों की जय (@Tarunvijay) March 29, 2021