Subhash K Jha Questions Amitabh on the Aamir Controversy

Subhash K Jha queries Amitabh Bachchan about the recent Aamir Khan controversy and isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions.

Aamir Khan continues to justify his severe comments on Black and in the same breath he calls you the biggest star that Indian cinema has ever seen. Comment.

The only thing correct about this question is Aamir’s justification of his severe comments on Black. It’s his individual opinion and it must be respected. What I entirely disagree with is the largesse he offers me on being the ‘biggest star of Indian Cinema’. There he has gone totally wrong.

We hear a lot of Aamir recently because he has a film to release and needs to promote it. Madhuri Dixit has said that in today’s day and age everyone needs to scream about their product. The age of subtle and soft marketing is over. And what’s wrong if the subject of Aamir’s film, which I believe deals with challenged children, needs for him to take a stand on his beliefs about the film. He did the same post the release of Rang de Basanti. His beliefs could differ from the beliefs of other makers, so what? Black, which he had issues with, won huge laurels, both critically and commercially, nationally and internationally.
If his is a voice of lone dissent, it’s his right as an individual, living in a free society. And if his comments attract debate, it can only help in drawing attention to the product he now promotes. I think it to be very smart of him to be able to have achieved that. Is there a provision in law or society that states that one cannot be smart? And why just Aamir… in today’s available mediums we all do it. So what if Shah Rukh goes to a cricket match to promote his film? Does not the media dress and decorate its pages and headlines to gain maximum attention and saleability? I will do it too, when my film comes up for release to assist marketing.

Technorati Tags: Subhash K Jha Questions Amitabh on the Aamir Controversy