Aamir Khan has finally spoken out about the controversy surrounding his 2014 hit film ‘PK’, directed by Rajkumar Hirani. PK, one of the most acclaimed satirical dramas in Bollywood, has faced criticism from certain groups, accusing the movie of being anti-religious and promoting ‘love jihad’.In a recent interview with India TV, Aamir firmly stated that the film was never intended to offend any religion or faith.Aamir Khan about criticism against ‘PK’“We’re not against any religion. We respect all religions and all religious people. That 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’ll find people like that in every religion. That was the film’s only purpose,” he said.
Aamir also addressed one of the key points of criticism the movie received: a Hindu woman (played by Anushka Sharma) falling in love with a Pakistani Muslim man (portrayed by the late Sushant Singh Rajput). Many interpreted this as an endorsement of ‘love jihad’.Aamir Khan about his family life and interfaith marriagesThe ‘Dangal’ actor called it a humane portrayal and urged people to rise above religious divides. He believes that interfaith love and marriage should not be politicised, citing his own family and personal life as examples.Aamir’s sisters have both married Hindu men — Nikhat Khan is married to Santosh Hegde, while Farhat Khan’s husband is Rajeev Dutta. His daughter, Ira Khan, recently tied the knot with Nupur Shikhare, who was born into a Hindu family. Aamir himself was married to Reena Dutta, and later to Kiran Rao.Aamir also shared the reasoning behind the names of his children — Ira Khan, Junaid Khan, and Azad Rao Khan — which are often perceived as Islamic. He clarified that it was his wives who chose the names. Reena, for instance, selected the names Junaid and Ira.“Let me tell you, Ira is another name for (goddess) Saraswati. Have you heard of Irawati? It’s just that Reena wanted to pronounce it differently,” he added.He further explained that the name was inspired by The Penguin Book of Hindu Names by Maneka Gandhi. Azad’s name, he said, was chosen by Kiran Rao as a tribute to the freedom fighter and former Education Minister Maulana Azad.“Azad isn’t a Muslim name. Haven’t you heard of Chandrashekhar Azad? He was also a freedom fighter. It’s a neutral name,” he clarified.“I’m very proud I’m a Muslim. I’m also proud I’m a Hindustani. Both of these statements are true,” he emphasised.Aamir Khan’s work frontOn the work front, Aamir is gearing up for the release of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ on June 20.
