India made ‘PK’ a blockbuster, that’s tolerance: BJP MP

BJP MP Satish Gautam on Wednesday said Bollywood actor Aamir Khan should remember despite his film ‘PK’ that ridiculed Hindu gods and godesses, people not only watched it but it went on to be a smashing hit at the box office.

“This shows that India is a tolerant nation, allowing freedom of speech and expression to everyone,” Gautam, a member of parliament from Aligarh, said, adding people with a public standing should be conscious of their public utterances.

He was referring to Aamir being the brand ambassador of the union tourism ministry’s ‘Incredible India’ campaign.

Gautam’s reaction came in response to Aamir, who reportedly aired his filmmaker wife Kiran Rao’s views on a public platform that there was growing intolerance in India and she had once contemplated moving to some other country.

In a related development, union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Tuesday night said Aamir should send his wife to Pakistan or Iran or Iraq and assess for himself what the situation was compared to India.

“We are a very safe and progressive nation for everyone. People like Aamir should shed their religious prejudices and then see things in the right perspective,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Kanpur.

She also slammed writers and artists returning awards and questioned their motive.