Mr. Perfectionist of Bollywood, Aamir Khan is once again in the news for his “leaving India” remarks that he made in connection with the “growing intolerance” discussion in the country. This time his stand has been criticized by the Khiladi of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar who feels that ups and downs take place in every nation but one shouldn’t begin making “bold” statements.
Aamir started a huge controversy when he said that his wife was very afraid with what was happening in the country and she had asked him whether they should shift out of India. He was criticized by a lot of right wing political leaders as well as several Bollywood stars.
Akshay Kumar said this while talking to India Today TV, “Any kind of ups and downs happen in every nation and you can’t get into so much straight away that you start giving such bold statements. These kind of things happen. There are so many good things also which we don’t speak about. Unfortunately, we have the habit of only pointing out the wrong things but nevertheless everybody has the right to talk.”
Actor turned politician and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha says that if someone from Bollywood talks about intolerance, he doesn’t agree with them; in fact, he considers it “nadaan” (childhish). He said this at Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), “A lot of people from the film industry brought up the issues of intolerance in haste, and it is childish to do so. I don’t stand by them in this regard.”
In response to Akshay’s statement, Aamir also replied soon and said that there is no other nation in the world which is as diverse as India. In his words, “I was born here and I will die here. I never said India was intolerant or I wanted to leave the country. I also understand the emotions of those who were hurt. I would like to say that my statement was misunderstood and to some extent media is responsible for it.
Aamir was talking to reporters in Mumbai on the event of his superhit movie “Rang De Basanti” finishing ten years. He said, “Our country is diverse with so many languages, culture…no other country has so much diversity as India.”
Aamir gave a clarification after he was criticized heavily for his “leaving India” comment. He said that he completely stood by his words and “neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country.”