Akshay Kumar in Deepa Mehta’s Kamagata Maru

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After the furore that was raised over the apology of a beard that Akshay Kumar sported as a Sikh in Anees Bazmi’s Singh Is Kinng, Akshay Kumar is taking no chances.

For the role of the real-life Sardarji who sailed in the fateful ship named Kamagata Maru from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 1914, Akshay is taking no chances.

He’ll grow the beard to the size stipulated by the Sikh community before plunging into the role in January 2010.

In fact the actor, smarting under the attack he faced for his improper beard length in Bazmi’s bearded burlesque has this time decided to set aside all his assignments for Kamagata Maru to avoid continuity clashes with other projects.

Says Deepa, “Akshay is so amazing. Considering he has so much work on hand I was surprised when he absolutely insisted on growing a full-length beard . One of the reasons I postponed Kamagata Maru to to next year was so that Akshay would be able to block an entire chunk of dates for my film and keep the beard. I was very sure that I didn’t want him for a month and then return with a false beard and finish my film. It’s very important for actors to respect continuity. That’s the only way to work.”

Deepa saw Akshay Kumar play a Sardar in Singh Is Kinng before casting him in Kamagata Maru. “I thought he made a very good Sardar. He has a very Panju-Sardar look. Akshay has to play a 48-year old Sardar. And he’s absolutely fine with a salt-and-pepper beard.”

“Akshay is also the film’s producer along with my life partner David Hamilton, so his interest in the film is very very deep,” says Deepa.

Post the fiasco that’s Chandni Chowk to China Akshay Kumar is also counting on converting his comic currency into something more compelling and enduring.

According to Deepa, Akshay Kumar will be seen in a completely non-comic serious and politically profound role in Kamagata Maru.

“Five years ago Akshay was completely ready to transform his image in Water when he was to play the Gandhian reformist. The role in Kamagata Maru is far more challenging.”

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The Komagata Maru is the name of a ship that deals with a time in Canadian history that not too many people know about. The Komagata Maru was a ship filled with over 350 East Indian migrants that sailed into Canada on May 23, 1914. When the ship sailed into Vancouver Harbour all of the East Indians were refused the right to enter Canada. The refusal was based on a new law that was made specifically to keep South Asian migrants from coming into the country. The law was passed in 1908 and called the Continuous Journey Regulation. This law made it illegal for South Asian people to come to Canada if they stopped in another country to take a break during their trip to Canada. Remember that around the time of 1914, people who came to Canada from countries like India were coming from really far away and they would need to stop in other countries to get extra food and supplies. This law was racist because it meant that people of colour would not be allowed to stay in Canada.

In 1914, many people in Vancouver supported the government and believed that the East Indian migrants should not be allowed to come into Canada. People who supported the Canadian government believed that the “brown invasion” would ruin their lives and take away all the jobs.

Before 1914, the government was getting worried that too many “brown” people were coming to Canada and made laws in 1907 to make it illegal for Indian people to vote, become Prime Minister, become a lawyer, and they were banned from other jobs too. Again, today we would say such laws are racist! Unfortunately, back in the early 1900s such laws were accepted by many people.

Eventually on July 23rd, 1914, the Komagata Maru was forced by the Canadian government and Navy to leave Vancouver Harbour. The East Indians on the ship who were forced to go back to India were very sad because they believed that Canadians would welcome them instead of forcing them to go away. Many of the people on the ship fought in wars supporting Canada and could not understand why Canadians were being so racist towards them. When the Komagata Maru arrived back in India many of the people on the ship were beaten up and killed by British soldiers who were waiting for them.