After Bollywood actor Aamir Khan joined a debate about the growing intolerance in the country, the popular 50-year-old actor is now under fire for admitting that he wants to leave the country for good. Now, Khan and his wife are being criticized and harassed for his actions.
During an interview at the Ramnath Goenka journalism awards ceremony, Khan admitted his growing uneasiness in the country for the past eight months. His filmmaker wife, Kiran Rao, who is Hindu, admitted her concerns about the safety of their child.
"For the first time, she said, should we move out of India? That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make to me, " Khan said.
The result of the Khan's interview sets off Hindu activists and protesters to go outside his house in Mumbai and Patna where they painted the actor's posters with black ink, then sets it on fire. Khan's advertisement for a New Delhi-based online store is also in danger, as a campaign was launched to remove the mobile phone app for Snapdeal.
However, in a recent interview with Khan with the Hindustan Times, the actor admitted that he does not have any plans to leave the country. "Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said," Khan said in a statement given to the media. "India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying."
Although Khan explained his side about his previous comments, advocate Manoj Kumar Dixit still filled a sedition case against the actor for his "anti-national" statements that are set to be heard on Dec. 1, according to Thestar. Bollywood actor Anupam Kher also lashed out sentiments against Khan and his wife on his Twitter page saying that during these intolerant times, he [Khan] needs to spread hope and not fear.