Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan is currently gearing up for the release of his much-awaited film Sitaare Zameen Par, which is slated to hit theatres on June 20. As part of promotions, the actor has been making several public appearances and interviews, but it’s his latest comment on a sensitive and controversial topic that has sparked massive discussion online.
In a latest interview with India TV, Aamir Khan finally addressed the long-standing allegations of Love Jihad and religion-targeting that have followed him ever since the release of his 2014 blockbuster PK, directed by Rajkumar Hirani.
“They’re wrong. We’re not against any religion. We respect all religions and all religious people. That film just tells us to be cautious of those who exploit religion to fool the common man in order to extract money from them. You’ll find people like that in every religion. That was the film’s only purpose,” said Aamir.
He also touched upon a scene from PK that featured Anushka Sharma playing an Indian Hindu woman who falls in love with a Pakistani Muslim man played by the late Sushant Singh Rajput. The scene had earlier triggered backlash from a certain section of viewers. Aamir, however, firmly denied any such intent.
“This is just humanity. It’s above religion,” Aamir argued, adding, “When people from two religions, particularly Hindu and Muslim, fall in love and get married, that’s not always love jihad.”
Aamir went on to cite examples from his own family, questioning whether his sisters’ and daughter’s marriages to Hindu men would also fall under the same label.
For the unversed, the actor’s sister Farhat is married to Rajeev Dutta, while Nikhat is married to Santosh Hegde. His daughter, Ira Khan, recently tied the knot with Nupur Shikhare.
The actor, who himself was married to two Hindu women in the past — Reena Dutta and Kiran Rao, also addressed questions around his children’s names.
“My kids have been named by my wives. There wasn’t any interference from my end. Husbands ki zyada chalti nahi hai,” he smiled. Aamir further shared, “Let me tell you, Ira is another name for (goddess) Saraswati. Have you heard of Irawati? It’s just that Reena wanted to pronounce it differently,” adding that Ira’s name was inspired by Maneka Gandhi’s book The Penguin Book of Hindu Names.
While addressing the trolling he receives from both sides, Aamir calmly concluded, “I’m very proud I’m a Muslim. I’m also proud I’m a Hindustani. Both of these statements are true.”
Coming back to the film, Sitaare Zameen Par marks Aamir Khan’s return to the big screen and stars Genelia D’Souza opposite him. Directed by RS Prasanna, the film is said to be a sports comedy-drama and a spiritual sequel to the 2007 classic Taare Zameen Par. It’s the official Hindi remake of the Spanish hit Champions and will also introduce fresh talent like Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, and others.
With just a few days left for release, fans are eagerly waiting to witness Aamir’s magic once again in theatres.
-
Did you forget to pay the RD installment? So the bank is cheating you of your hard-earned money, know the complete A to Z to avoid a penalty
-
Post Office is not for sending letters... now it is for making money, investment in these 5 schemes will make you 'rich'
-
People often do not pay attention to these 6 things while taking a personal loan, later they have to bear the brunt.
-
Is the burden of many loans on your head? Snowball and Avalanche Method will get you rid of them quickly, know what it is
-
If you have FD in SBI, pay attention, has the bank reduced your earnings by reducing the interest? Know how much return you will get in 5 years now.
