Aamir Khan, as if taking a cue from Shah Rukh Khan, spoke of intolerance in the country, when he said that India is witnessing "growing despondency" and that his wife Kiran Rao "fears for her child, she fears for the atmosphere around us, she feels scared to open the newspapers every day".
Apart from a police complaint filed by short filmmaker Ullhas PR on Tuesday in New Delhi, as reported by IANS, the actor could be in for far more trouble this time.
Many social media users are now saying they are uninstalling the Snapdeal app and won't shop on the online marketplace unless Aamir Khan is removed as its brand ambassador.
If the backlash continues, Snapdeal may well be forced to remove him if the backlash hits the online marketplace's sales, in a sector that is facing stiff competition from rivals like Flipkart.
Meanwhile, the actor, successful in his profession but known for courting controversy often, is now being criticised, ridiculed and abused on social media, and trending high on Twitter (#AamirKhan).
One angry user on WhatsApp said, "The country which strips you down to your underwear at checkpoint just because you have a certain name is LIBERAL and the country which makes you a star regardless of your name is INTOLERANT."
The user was apparently referring to Aamir Khan being strip-searched at Chicago Airport in 2002.
Another WhatsApp user said, "Everything in life is not about a Deal that you can Snap whenever it doesn't serve your vested commercial interests," taking a pun on the actor's endorsement of Snapdeal.
The actor has been criticised by the BJP on many occasions, though he was seen with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) on 2 October last year.
The BJP's saffron ally, the Shiv Sena, asked him to go to Pakistan if he felt insecure in India.
BJP members P Muralidhar Rao and spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao reacted on expected lines.
Unfortunate that #AamirKhan is patronising a clique trying to build up a malicious campaign against the NDA govt.
— P Muralidhar Rao (@PMuralidharRao) November 24, 2015
#AamirKhan Which other country could have suffered likes of Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi. That alone demonstrates highest level of tolerance.
— GVL Narasimha Rao (@GVLNRAO) November 24, 2015
Prominent Congress supporter Tehnseen Poonawalla voiced concern that the Modi government may stop using him for tourism promotion as a result of the raging controversy.
I'm told that there is a proposal to drop #AamirKhan from the #IncredibleIndia promotions !
— Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) November 24, 2015
In one stroke #AamirKhan lost the love of the people who were his fans and the ones who never believed in him anyway
— meena das narayan (@MeenaDasNarayan) November 24, 2015
Trouble for Snapdeal, if more tweets like the one below are any indication:
I am going to uninstall @snapdeal instantly from my mobile phone. #AamirKhan@aamir_khan You all should uninstall this app. Anti Nationalist
— Anupam (@anupamnawada) November 24, 2015
Former BJP member Sudheendra Kulkarni, who has not been in the good books of the BJP for quite some time now, sounded moderate.
#AamirKhan didn't say he considered leaving India. In fact, he called wife #KiranRao's suggestion "disastrous". #IStandWithAamirKhan
— Sudheendra Kulkarni (@SudheenKulkarni) November 24, 2015
