Extremism

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan faces social media wrath over meeting Turkey’s First lady

Photo: Twitter/Emine Erdogan.

Days after Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s photographs with Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan went viral, social media criticism of one of the highest-paid actors of India for meeting Erdogan, is raging.

Aamir Khan, who is looking for locations in Turkey for the shooting of his upcoming film, Laal Singh Chaddha, had to face the wrath of netizens when Emine Erdogan tweeted photographs with the Indian actor.

Sharing a few photos of their meet, Emine Erdogan wrote: “I had the great pleasure of meeting @aamir_khan, the world-renowned Indian actor, filmmaker, and director, in Istanbul. I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ in different parts of Turkey. I look forward to it!”

As per a statement on the official website of Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, the 55-year-old actor briefed Emine Erdogan about the social responsibility projects he is associated with and the first lady congratulated him for addressing social issues in his films, a Delhi based news agency PTI reported.

The Photographs of the duo have gone viral on social media and netizens have reacted to their meeting with mixed opinions.

Netizens are opposing the meet between the actor and Emine, calling attention to stressed relations between India and Turkey.

“So I have been proven right in classifying Aamir Khan as one of the 3 Khan Musketeers?” tweeted Rajya Sabha MP, Subramanian Swamy on Monday while taking a sarcastic jibe at the actor.

Later on, talking to media Swami said that as it is coronavirus period, Aamir must be quarantined for 14 days after he returns to India. Terming Turkey as anti-India, Swamy also said that Aamir Khan should have taken embassy people along with him while meeting the First Lady.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also slammed the meeting.

“Some persons and actors are inclined towards the persons and icons famous for their anti-Bharat credentials. An actor’s feeling proud of meeting Turkey’s first lady indicates so many things,” said Alok Kumar, the International Working President of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) Monday.

Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi, while insisting that Khan is free to meet anyone, tweeted: “Erdogan is on a mission to become a new self-appointed Caliph. He has always been anti-India and Turkey’s religious directorate under him is funding extremism in India. Turkey is the biggest invisible threat for us. Erdogan or any of his acquaintances shouldn’t be trusted.”

Not just politicians and activists but thousands of social media users called out Aamir Khan for his “hypocritical behaviour.”

As soon as the first lady of turkey posted the photos of Aamir Khan, verified twitter user @AsYouNotWish wrote: “Aamir Khan who avoided meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, a friend of India, meets Turkish First Lady, Emine Erdogan at a time when Turkey is openly backing Pakistan and cornering India on Kashmir. Reportedly, Aamir sought the meeting. If true, he has made a very loud statement.”

Film director, also known for his pro-Hindutva stance, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri @vivekagnihotri also called Aamir Khan a “Hypocrite.”

 

User — Jitender Kumar (@Jitenderkr143) tweeted:”Amir khan Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu se Milne ko mana Kar dete hai Jo India Ka acha dost hai. Magar vo turkey ja ke Turkish PM se milte hai Jo #Pakistan ko support karta hai and also give anti India statement Won’t be surprised if #AamirKhan feels unsafe again in India.”

Pertinently, this is not the Khan’s first visit to Turkey or his first meeting with the Erdogan family. His interaction with the Turkish President in 2017 also ruffled many feathers.

Getting caught up in controversies isn’t something new for the 55-year-old actor.

In 2015 he publicly expressed “a sense of insecurity and fear” of living in India due to intolerance among masses. Khan’s comment on intolerance in the country sparked outrage in the nation.

The actor had stated in a conference that his wife Kiran Rao feels unsafe in the country and wants him to leave the country. These words created a hullabaloo in social media with people giving multiple opinions on the matter.

However, the matter intensified soon after few politicians slammed the actor for being so ungrateful towards his mother nation. Following the chaos, an Indian e-commerce company based in New Delhi Snapdeal, refused to renew their contract with the actor.

Aamir, on the following day, issued a statement saying that he has no intentions of shifting to a different country. He said, “I feel fortunate being born here and this is where I am staying.”

Aamir flew to Turkey last week to shoot for ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. It is the Hindi remake of Hollywood film ‘Forrest Gump’ and also features Kareena Kapoor Khan.

The actor, according to the reports, will be staying there for 40 days.

 

Free Press Kashmir is now on Telegram. Click here to Join

Click to comment
To Top