In an interview Bollywood icon Aamir Khan made a revelation that his wife had asked him whether they should leave the country as “she fears for her child”. This comment by Aamir Khan which was with respect to the so called rising intolerance in India sparked row.
Congress, Left, SP and AAP backed Aamir Khan. Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the Centre should “reach out to people” and not bully them. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, “Every word he said is so true. I admire him for speaking up.”
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said there was a “deep political conspiracy to defame the country” and there was “no better neighbour than a Hindu for a Muslim”.
Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, “Some people are misleading and some people are misled. Who comes in which category, I do not want to say. Some are propagating wrong things, some are coming under wrong propaganda. My suggestion is that the situation in India is better than any other country. People of India are tolerant.”
Views from Bollywood
Bollywood actor Anupam Kher asked when did he changed from being an ambassador for ‘Incredible India’ to someone feeling threatened by intolerance.
Ram Gopal Varma, who directed Aamir Khan in the super hit ‘Rangeela’, wrote, “Some celebs complaining about intolerance should be the last ones to complain because they became celebs in a so-called intolerant country … Compared to any country, India is the most tolerant and if some people are unhappy here also, they should tell which country they will go to.”
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, on the other hand, said, “Aamir Khan issue has been blown out of proportion. We need a leader who can assure us of security. Naseeruddin Shah feared for his life after the Babri masjid demolition.”
What did Aamir say?
Aamir in his statement in an interview suggested that he and his family might have considered moving out of India.
“When I chat with Kiran at home, she says ‘should we move out of India?’ That’s a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day,” he said.