Indian Twitter wants to boycott SRK for viral photo with PM Imran

Indian Twitter is up in arms against Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, with #BoycottShahRukhKhan trending in the country. The apparent spark that led to the fire was a picture of the Om Shanti Om actor with Prime Minister Imran Khan from an event in 2008. Several users retweeted the picture calling for a boycott against Shah Rukh.

The fact that the actor is set to play a RAW agent in the upcoming film Pathan, in which he will be playing a Muslim, has also struck a nerve of Hindu fundamentalists in the country. The film will also feature Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, as well as Salman Khan in a cameo role, according to Times of India.

A user took to Twitter to write that the “ideology” Shah Rukh is promoting is harmful. They wrote, “Boycott Shah Rukh Khan because aap ek aese ideology ko promote kr rhe ho jo society, humanity and harmony ke liye harmful hai [You are promoting an ideology that is harmful to society, humanity and harmony].”

Another user claimed that Shah Rukh’s portrayal of Ashoka in the 2001 film, in which the actor starred alongside Kareena Kapoor, was negative and put the emperor in a “bad light”. The user also took issue with the actor choosing to play a character named Pathan. They tweeted, “SRK shows our Hindu king Ashoka in a bad light. Where Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar are making movies on Tanhaji and Prithviraj Chauhan, he is making a movie on Pathan. I mean it’s a spy action movie so why don’t they give him a Hindu name? Why praising Pathan in India?”

Another user took to the micro-blogging site and posted about the glorification of Pathans in the upcoming film, writing, “Which Pathans are [they] glorifying? Those who are fighting among themselves? Killing their mothers and sisters? Killing their own brothers?”

On how Shah Rukh called India “intolerant” and called out the Indian Premier League (IPL) for its refusal to allow Pakistani players to take part in the matches, a user tweeted, “Before supporting anyone, I am a proud Indian. SRK called India 'Intolerant' when every Muslim is having full freedom. He says Pakistani players should be picked in IPL.”

In a similar vein, another user shared an old video of Shah Rukh in which the actor calls out the rising intolerance in the country. The user tweeted, “‘There is extreme intolerance, there is growing intolerance in this country’ – Shah Rukh Khan. If India is an intolerant country, then why do these people still live here?”

Another Twitter user seemingly quoted the actor’s remarks on Pakistani cricket, labelling him “pro-Pakistan”. The post read, “Pakistani players are the best players in the world. They are the champions! There’s extreme intolerance in India! This guy SRK is pro-Pakistani and he has proven it many times.”

Some users called for a complete boycott of Bollywood overall, writing, “Friends, We are on the way to success again! Let's share in each and every group and send this Bollywood to hell. We don't need any more Bollywood.”