As the release date of Aamir Khan starrer Laal Singh Chauhan draws closer, the ballooning boycott campaign the movie has been facing seems to have put the actor on edge. With the calls for a boycott gaining momentum, the PK actor has leaned on the victim card as perhaps the last-ditch effort to salvage his upcoming film.
In a recent interview with the Humans of Bombay, Khan welled up while recalling his childhood days, when his family was allegedly in debt and had no money to pay for his school fees. Khan said he and his siblings would get late paying their school fees, adding that the school principal often their names in the assembly to embarrass them and issue warnings over late fees.
Speaking about the struggle his family had to go through in paying their school fees, Aamir said the fee structure was – ₹6 for the 6th standard, ₹7 for the 7th standard, ₹8 for the 8th standard and so on. However, Aamir and his siblings ‘were always late to pay their fees’. After a couple of warnings, the principal would announce their names in the assembly, Aamir recounted with tears in his eyes.
However, it is worth noting that Aamir is the son of film producer Tahir Hussain and his wife Zeenat Hussain. He is the eldest among four siblings-Faisal Khan, Farhat Khan and Nikhat Khan. Aamir had also appeared as a child artist in the blockbuster Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). As an adult, he debuted alongside Juhi Chawla as lead actor in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988).
The “emotionally charged” interview comes ahead of the release of Aamir Khan’s upcoming movie Laal Singh Chaddha, a remake of Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, which has been a subject of an online boycott campaign for a host of reasons: the actor’s controversial statements over “rising intolerance”, mocking Hindu Gods in his “PK” movie, and the lack of ingenuity and blatantly copy-pasting a Hollywood movie.
Social media websites are replete with posts carrying #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha hashtag, with critics urging others to not watch the upcoming Aamir Khan flick. The campaign has gained momentum, especially in the last few days, as the theatrical release of the movie inches closer.
Aamir Khan urges people to not boycott Laal Singh Chaddha, and claims he “really loves India”
A few days back, Khan took cognisance of the hashtags like #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha that had started trending on Twitter. Urging people not to boycott his film, which he has also co-produced, the Bollywood actor, claimed that he loves India, contrary to the impression some people may have.
While some people want to boycott Laal Singh Chaddha because they fear that Aamir has ruined another Hollywood classic, most are boycotting it because of Aamir’s anti-Hindu stance in his movie PK and subsequent anti-India statements despite India making his film the highest ever grosser.
Speaking to PTI, the Bollywood actor said, “That Boycott Bollywood… Boycott Aamir Khan… Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha… I feel sad also because a lot of people who are saying this in their hearts believe I am someone who doesn’t like India… In their hearts, they believe that… And that’s quite untrue.”
The actor added, “I really love the country… That’s how I am. It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way.” Asking his fans and the audience to give his film a fair chance, Aamir Khan further said, “I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films, please watch my films.”
Pertinently, the actor’s reaction came after some Twitter users dug up Aamir’s controversial 2015 “India’s growing intolerance” statement and made it viral. Back in 2015, Aamir Khan had said that he and his wife Kiran Rao (now ex-wife) were feeling petrified of the rising intolerance in the country and were seriously considering migrating to some other country.
