Aamir Khan’s recent statement about wanting to leave India because of growing intolerance got him a lot of flak from fans and fellow actors, but he has a defender in Sonam Kapoor who says his statement, though ‘too extreme’, was ‘not irrelevant’.
Sonam was speaking at the Agenda Aaj Tak 2015 conference, where she said that intolerance has always been in India:
“We have seen all kinds of riots in the past 60 years. We have too many religions, languages and cultures, but at the same time, there will always be judgments. But the fact that people know about it is a very healthy aspect,” she said.
She went on to speak in support of Aamir Khan for speaking up about India’s intolerance problem:
“Aamir Khan has already given clarification on his statement… If somebody is critiquing something it doesn’t make him anti-national. Constructive criticism is always healthy. Aamir, one of the biggest stars of the country, said something and people became so negative towards him. Now, do you think he will ever speak about any issue like that? May be it was too extreme what he said, but it was not irrelevant.”
And she rounded off her views by saying that Pak-India politics should not interfere with the cross-exchange of talent:
“I don’t understand India-Pakistan politics at all, but I think if people from our country can work anywhere in the world, people from other countries can also work here. Nothing is wrong in it. I don’t think politics should have any space in the field of arts and sports. The fact that I have worked with Fawad Khan, who is a great actor, is completely separate from the fact that he is a Pakistani.”
