“Sedition case filed against
Aamir Khan over intolerance remark, claims he tried to divide India.”
“Intolerance Row: Fans To Boycott
Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan Films!”
“Snapdeal disassociates itself
from Aamir Khan's comments on intolerance.”
For the
past two days, these headlines have been cramming my TV screen, and honestly,
I’m kind of sick of it. Aamir Khan is wrong. India, in fact, is the most
tolerant country. It tolerates corruption, ridicule, bullshit, debauchery and
frivolity. However, the only thing India is intolerant of, is logic and
rationality.
I’m not
someone who likes to share my so-called opinion just because the rest of the
population is doing so. But this issue has really gone out of control. Let’s
rewind to the initiation point of this
controversy, shall we?
“When I chat with Kiran at home,
she says, ‘Should we move out of India?’ That’s a disastrous and big statement for
Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears what the atmosphere around us
will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day.”
First of
all, read the whole statement properly. If the rational side of your brain has
been corroded by ignorance, then let me break it down to you in a simple way:
all Aamir Khan meant was that his wife, who, by the way, is one of the most
sensible filmmakers of our country, is worried about their child, and feels
that maybe they should move out of India to provide a more secure future to
their little boy. But, BUT, Aamir himself found this thought of Kiran’s appalling;
which totally negates all the criticism being splashed at him.
Secondly,
what gives the media or anyone else the right to protest against a decision
made by two parents? What gives them the right to poke their long, jobless
noses into a matter that is totally private? If tomorrow they do decide to move
out of the country, nobody has the authority to stop them.
Thirdly,
maybe it was a mistake on Aamir’s part to make such a comment without realizing
how viral it would get considering his stature as a star, and our country’s
preoccupation with blowing things out of proportion. But did the media just have to dwindle this to the level of
cheap journalism?
Aamir
Khan’s statement relating to his wife’s concerns towards their child was turned
into a ridiculous game of Chinese Whisper. This simply proves that the world
basically needs something, just anything, to talk about. A few days back it was
people changing their Facebook profile pictures to show “support” towards those
killed and massacred in Paris, Syria, Beirut, Japan, and so many more countries
whose name didn’t make it to the headlines. Now it’s the whole Khan being
anti-national hoopla; and tomorrow it will be something else. The media needs
its fodder, and unfortunately we provide it with the exact amount, with a
cherry on top.
Aamir
Khan is one of the most socially aware actors of Bollywood. He not only makes
movies that voice out social issues, but has also been associated with shows
and campaigns that try to make our country a better place to live in. Yes, he
charges bucket-loads of money for it. Why shouldn’t he? It’s his name and face
that drives the audience to listen to him. He’s doing his job, and getting paid
for it. I see nothing wrong in that. Please stop ostracizing someone for
absolutely no reason.
Let’s
wait till the next petty headline hits the internet and we all paint our walls
red (pun indeed intended).
