Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has finally spoken out about the long-standing criticism around his 2014 hit film PK. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, PK was a big box-office success but also faced backlash for allegedly mocking religion. Some people even accused the film of promoting “love jihad.” Now, after years of silence, Aamir Khan has responded to these claims and cleared the air.
Speaking about the PK controversy, Aamir Khan said the movie was never meant to hurt anyone’s religious feelings. He explained that the film had one clear message — to be careful of people who misuse religion to take advantage of others. “They are wrong. We are not against any religion,” Aamir said. “We respect all religions and all religious people. The film just tells us to be cautious of those who exploit religion to fool the common man in order to extract money from them. You will find people like that in every religion. That was the film’s only purpose.”
One of the most talked-about scenes in PK showed a Hindu woman, played by Anushka Sharma, falling in love with a Pakistani Muslim man, played by the late Sushant Singh Rajput. This led to criticism from some groups, accusing the film of promoting “love jihad.” Aamir strongly denied this claim. He said, “When two people from different religions, like Hindu and Muslim, choose to marry out of love, it shouldn’t be called love jihad. This is just humanity. It is above religion.”
Aamir also pointed out that in his own family, love has always been above religious boundaries. His sister Nikhat is married to Santosh Hegde, a Hindu. His other sister, Farhat, is married to Rajeev Dutta. Aamir’s daughter Ira Khan also married a Hindu man, Nupur Shikhare, last year. Aamir himself has been married to two Hindu women — Reena Dutta and Kiran Rao.
When asked why all his children have the surname Khan and Muslim-sounding names like Ira, Junaid, and Azad, Aamir had a funny and honest answer. “My kids have been named by my wives. There wasn’t any interference from my end. Husbands do not have too much of a say,” he joked.
He also shared the story behind each of their names. His first wife, Reena, named their children Ira and Junaid. Aamir explained that “Ira” is another name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. “You must’ve heard of Irawati. Reena just liked the shorter version,” he said. The name Ira was chosen from The Penguin Book of Hindu Names by Maneka Gandhi.
Aamir’s second wife, Kiran Rao, named their son Azad. The name was inspired by Aamir’s ancestor Maulana Azad, a freedom fighter and India’s first Education Minister. Aamir added that “Azad” is not just a Muslim name. “Haven’t you heard of Chandrashekhar Azad? He was also a freedom fighter,” Aamir said. He explained that the name Azad stands for freedom and courage, not religion.
With these statements, Aamir Khan has made it clear that he respects all religions and believes in humanity over religious boundaries. His message comes at a time when discussions around religion and cinema are growing louder in India.
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