Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan photographed in Mumbai.
Mumbai:
Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani said that Aamir Khan's statements on 'intolerance' were innocent.
On November 23, Aamir said that he was 'alarmed by a number of incidents.' Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism in Delhi, Aamir also said, "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."
"Aamir has clearly said, 'I feel distressed, I feel sad that my wife once said this to me.' To me, it was a very innocent answer. Perhaps, he shared something from his family conversations with the public. According to me, that should've been ignored. But the manner in which people have attacked him, I see a bit of intolerance in that, in certain sections," said Mr Hirani.
Mr Hirani also said that people need to become a 'bit more tolerant.'"I feel we need to pick up on positive things and talk about those things. We all need to be careful. If you analyse that interview, it's not that Aamir Khan called for a press conference and said, 'This is what I feel.' He was called for an award function. He was asked to speak on various topics and one of the questions happened to be this (on intolerance)," said Mr Hirani.
"And this fact was connected to the fact that he is a Muslim. This thought had never even come in our minds. I've celebrated every Diwali at Aamir's house. Today, I'm sitting with Javed Akhtar sahab, but this thought that a Hindu and Muslim are sitting together didn't come to our minds. This thought should be the last thought. The manner in which this is spreading, I feel there is a certain divide that's been created," added Mr Hirani.(Also Read: India Will Always Remain a Tolerant Country, Says Javed Akhtar)
The filmmaker has directed Aamir in 2009's 3 Idiots and 2014's PK.
On November 23, Aamir said that he was 'alarmed by a number of incidents.' Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism in Delhi, Aamir also said, "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."
"Aamir has clearly said, 'I feel distressed, I feel sad that my wife once said this to me.' To me, it was a very innocent answer. Perhaps, he shared something from his family conversations with the public. According to me, that should've been ignored. But the manner in which people have attacked him, I see a bit of intolerance in that, in certain sections," said Mr Hirani.
Mr Hirani also said that people need to become a 'bit more tolerant.'"I feel we need to pick up on positive things and talk about those things. We all need to be careful. If you analyse that interview, it's not that Aamir Khan called for a press conference and said, 'This is what I feel.' He was called for an award function. He was asked to speak on various topics and one of the questions happened to be this (on intolerance)," said Mr Hirani.
"And this fact was connected to the fact that he is a Muslim. This thought had never even come in our minds. I've celebrated every Diwali at Aamir's house. Today, I'm sitting with Javed Akhtar sahab, but this thought that a Hindu and Muslim are sitting together didn't come to our minds. This thought should be the last thought. The manner in which this is spreading, I feel there is a certain divide that's been created," added Mr Hirani.(Also Read: India Will Always Remain a Tolerant Country, Says Javed Akhtar)
The filmmaker has directed Aamir in 2009's 3 Idiots and 2014's PK.
