RSS mouthpiece calls Aamir Khan China's favourite, slams Turkey visit

RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya has questioned Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s meeting with Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan earlier this month and for endorsing Chinese products, accusing him of “forging a friendship with those considered enemies of India.”

Khan met Emine, the wife of Turkish President Recep Erdogan, in Istanbul about a week ago where he will be shooting his upcoming Lal Singh Chaddha. Mrs. Erdogan shared a picture on Twitter on August 15, saying it was a “great pleasure” meeting the actor.

I had the great pleasure of meeting @aamir_khan, the world-renowned Indian actor, filmmaker, and director, in Istanbul. I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ in different parts of Turkey. I look forward to it! pic.twitter.com/3rSCMmAOMW

— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) August 15, 2020

In the Hindi article titled Dragon ka pyara Khan (Dragon’s favourite Khan), an apparent reference to the Chinese mythological creature, Aamir Khan was slammed for choosing to shoot in Turkey while “patriotic movies” made by actors like Kangana Ranaut were praised.

“In the last five-six years, more patriotic movies are being produced like Uri-The Surgical Strike, Manikarnika. But there are actors who like rival countries such as China and Turkey more than their own country – India,” the article read in Hindi.

It went on to praise actors like Akshay Kumar and Kangana Ranaut for making films “full of patriotism and nationalism”. “They’re showing their loyalty to the country.” It said Khan does not see any harm in “forging friendships with those considered enemies of India”.

The article further attacked Khan for endorsing Chinese products and asked why his movies perform well in China when those by others fail to garner a similar response. It also called Khan the brand ambassador of Chinese products.