Akshay Kumar to sit out of Cannes Film Festival after contracting Covid again

India is the country of honour at Marche Du Films this year, the business aspect of the festival and one of the top film markets in the world

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is unable to attend the Cannes Film Festival after testing positive for Covid. Photo: AFP

Akshay Kumar will be unable to attend the Cannes Film Festival after the Indian actor tested positive for Covid-19.

The Airlift star revealed on his social media on Saturday that he had contracted the virus for the second time and won’t be able to fly to France to represent his native country at the event, which starts on Tuesday.

India is the country of honour at Marche Du Films, the business aspect of the festival and one of the top film markets in the world.

Indian celebrities including Kumar, Shekhar Kapur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pooja Hegde and AR Rahman were invited by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur to be part of the Cannes Film Market. Kumar was scheduled to appear on the red carpet of the opening day of the festival.

"Was really looking forward to rooting for our cinema at the India Pavilion at #Cannes2022, but have sadly tested positive for Covid,” the actor wrote on Twitter. “Will rest it out. Loads of best wishes to you and your entire team, @ianuragthakur. Will really miss being there."

The actor has been hospitalised as a precautionary measure. He had previously tested positive for the virus in April 2021.

Kumar's highly anticipated historical drama Prithviraj will be released next month. The film is based on the 12th-century epic poem Prithviraj Raso, about the life of the Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan. Kumar plays the leading role.

The film also stars Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Manushi Chhillar, and Manav Vij. It explores the clashes between Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori, a ruler from the Ghurid dynasty. The film faced several production setbacks due to the pandemic. It began in November 2019 and, after a series of delays, wrapped up in February 2021.

It is scheduled for a June 3 release in India.

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