Opinion: 71 minutes. That’s all it took for Aamir Khan to silence years of trolling - no noise, just proof of his love for India

The weekend gone by was a treat for fans of Aamir Khan. He appeared on one of the oldest and most popular TV chat shows, Aap Ki Adalat. The manner in which he was grilled by host Rajat Sharma and the way he answered were seen to be believed.

For those who are unaware, the 71-minute-long episode began with the allegation that he is unpatriotic. He made a valid point about his tweet on Operation Sindoor and even clarified on meeting with the Turkey President. He cleverly drew parallels with the government helping the Asian country during the earthquake in good faith before the Pahalgam attack and hence, he should also be spared of criticism. He didn’t mince words over the ‘Boycott Turkey’ moment and agreed that Indians should not visit the country.

He further proved his patriotism by revealing that Sarfarosh (1999) was the first fictional movie to mention Pakistan and expose its role in cross-border terrorism. He added, “In Parliament, if Lal Krishna Advani can mention Pakistan and ISI, then why not us?”. He also confessed that he asked Disney not to release Dangal (2016) in Pakistan if the Censor Board there removed the scene of the Indian National Flag and Indian National Anthem.

He then revealed that he spent nearly 8 days in Kargil and met the jawans. He thundered, “I don’t consider the terrorists as Muslims”. He also gave a valid answer when asked about being a heretic and PK (2014) being an ‘anti-Hindu movie’. The topic naturally veered towards Aamir indulging in ‘Love Jihad’. Here, Aamir did a checkmate as he remarked that both his sisters and also daughter Ira have married Hindu men. But what about his children bearing Muslim names? He had an answer for it too, “My views named them. Ira is a short form of Irawati”. As for his youngest son Azad, he asked, “Haven’t you guys heard of Chandrashekhar Azad?”. He also added that Kiran Rao chose the name and it was a tribute to their granduncle, freedom fighter Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad.

Aamir Khan also brought to the notice of the audience that he made Secret Superstar (2017), which was about a dysfunctional Muslim family and hence him being anti-Hindu is a pointless argument. He continued that he lost money on the TV show Satyamev Jayate. He asked, “I did Satyamev Jayate, I work in social films and I started the Paani Foundation. Tell me, which other actor is doing something of this sort right now?”

What Aamir Khan managed to do with this interview is unthinkable. He was subjected to several uncomfortable questions and he boldly took on them. We are living in times when most of the popular actors are too scared to open their mouths on anything that might be perceived as controversial. The team of the star sometimes requests the journalists not to ask certain questions. Another new trend is that the team of the actor or the film/show shoot the interview themselves. They then edit out anything that they feel can cause trouble and share the footage with the interviewer!

In such times, Aamir Khan chose to have none of these do’s and don’ts. He allowed all kinds of questioning and he didn’t shy away from answering them. At one point, he even stated, “I don’t go around talking about (the good work he has done). I am opening up today as I was asked about it.” By doing so, he set a new example for other actors and most importantly, he busted many myths surrounding him. Many in the society have been subjected to hate messages about him for nearly a decade and naturally, they got brainwashed. But the Aap Ki Adalat interview has been an eye-opener for them.

Yet, there’s a section of trolls who refuse to see the reality. They have probably got so used to hating Aamir that they are still finding faults in his comments. They chose to completely ignore his good deeds and indulge in shameless criticism, to satisfy their subscribers or to earn money via engagement farming. It's difficult to ascertain what it will take for him to convince them that he’s indeed a true Indian. On the other hand, many of his fans were heartbroken to see that Aamir had to prove his patriotism, despite doing so much for the society and country at large. Here’s hoping better sense prevails and notwithstanding the brickbats from both sides, Aamir continues to make meaningful-yet-entertaining cinema and work for the betterment of the society.

Also Read:Aamir Khan takes a stand against OTT Trend; says, “This will destroy theatres”

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