Aamir Khan and Intolerance

These days it is not possible to be on the net and not find opinions about Aamir Khan and his statements regarding intolerance or insecurity (they got mixed up) in today’s India. I would generally refrain from commenting, for multiple reasons – 

1. I don’t know “today’s India”; what I remember of it from thirty three years ago is it was one of the most tolerant countries among all I have seen or read about as of now. As for insecurity, in today’s world no place on earth is truly secure.

2. Aamir Khan is an actor; from what little I have seen; a good actor. If he believes a place is intolerant or insecure, he has every right to move to wherever he feels comfortable. He is not doing India any favors by staying there. Neither are Indians doing any favors to him by idolizing him, watching his movies if they really disliked the movies, or his acting or for that matter his opinions.

3. I am puzzled by the huge controversy surrounding one man’s opinion. Yes, I realize that a prominent person like him making these statements gives more publicity to the ‘intolerance’ accusations. But it can not make them any truer if they were in fact not true! So long as we all take a deep breath and remember that a film star - OK actor - is still human, with no special monopoly on knowledge, wisdom or maturity. (The image of Woody in "Toy story" crying in despair "You are a toy! T - O - Y" to Buzz, comes to mind smile emoticon )

Are we blowing this out of proportion by accusing him of virtues he does not possess – authority on religious harmony in India, for example? The mountains made from molehills can rouse pretty strong emotions… for no reason.

Just thinking...