Having debuted in 1988, Aamir Khan is seen largely as a
perfectionist in many aspects. From the films he chooses to do, to completely
immersing himself in his projects which come out after rather large intervals, one
of Bollywood’s veterans has offered audiences cinematic amazement for quite a
long time.

Interestingly, despite trying to distance himself from
controversies, somehow he has got entangled in one or another in several cases
over the years. Be it having a dog named after an equally famous fellow actor or speaking
about the state of the country, Khan’s comments have resulted in ire, outrage,
and even brand deals being put to rest.

Listed below are few of Aamir Khan’s controversial
statements:

1.     
Intolerance: Aamir Khan’s comments about
intolerance in India and his wife Kiran Rao’s concerns with staying in India caused
an outrage both on and off the internet in late 2015.

“When I chat with Kiran at home, she says
‘Should we move out of India?’ That’s a disastrous and big statement for Kiran
to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us
will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day”, Khan had said.

The comment led to a storm brewing on
Twitter, with political figures asking the actor how he could act in such a way.
In the following days, Snapdeal cancelled their contract with the actor.

2.     
SRK and feline-connection: Two-thirds of the
big-three among Khans in Bollywood, Sha Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan were rumoured
to be in a spat for a while, with the 3-Idiots actor writing in his blog back
in 2008 that ‘Shah Rukh’ was licking his feet and having biscuits from him.
Before one gets any further with any misconceptions, the Shah Rukh here would
be Aamir Khan’s pet dog, without, as per the actor, any sly references to the
Bollywood icon.

“Shahrukh is licking my feet and I am
feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for? Now, before
you jump to any conclusions let me add that Shahrukh is the name of our dog”,
Aamir wrote in his blog at the time, clarifying immediately the coincidental semblance
in name. He noted that when he bought a house, the caretaker of the house
already had the dog with the particular name.

3.     
Over-the-top: Criticising ‘Black’, starring
Amitabh Bachchan, Khan had said that Bachchan’s acting in the film had been ‘over-the-top’,
while pointing out several other flaws in the film, including that he felt it
was a rip-off of ‘Taming of the Shrew’. Big B replied in usual witty form,
saying it went “over the top’ of his head”, referring to Khan’s comment.

4.     
Narmada Bachao: While promoting his film ‘Fanaa’ in Gujarat in 2006, Khan joined hands with activist Medha Patkar, protesting against
the Gujarat government’s decision to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam
on the river Narmada. He raised concerns about tribes who would be displaced
from their homelands without any existing rehabilitation programs. Reportedly
making several anti-government remarks in the Narendra Modi-governed Gujarat at
the time.

“I am saying exactly what the Supreme
Court has said. I only asked for rehabilitation of poor farmers. I never spoke
against the construction of the dam. I will not apologise for my comments on
the issue”, Khan had said at the time, refusing to apologise later on.

theatre releases of ‘Fanaa’ in the
state were disrupted to a large degree in the following months because of unrest
surrounding the issue.