BOOM December 2015 | Page 27

C OVER STORY Open letter to Aamir Khan: Your work is what defines you, let it speak for itself D ear Aamir Khan, Now that you have had your say on intolerance, can you please get back to work? Of course, we knew you are not leaving the country, neither is Kiran; you didn't even have to say it. If you are wounded by all the nastiness thrown at you, remember work is a wonderful healer. You are an icon, and in India, icons transcend narrow identities. They are not judged as Hindu, Muslim, this or that. No one, I know of, thinks of Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar as Hindus or Shah Rukh, Salman and you as Muslims. That is the beauty of India. Small people cannot change that, try howsoever hard they may. You are right when you say that over the last few months there’s a sense of disquiet in the country. If that was not the case, the topic of intolerance would not be occupying the national mindspace in the first place. The fear could be all imagination and no substance, still, take the politics out of it and it’s a good issue to be raised. I don’t think you were being political when you said what you said. No rational mind would support thugs of different shades threatening people, asking them what to eat, and how to live. If people are bent on linking this lot to an ideology and a political party, it cannot be your fault. I know you are being asked a lot of questions challenging your integrity these days. Intolerance is in India’s DNA; why are you making a big deal out of it? They ask. Why were you silent when this or that was happening? Which country does not have intolerance? It goes on. It’s like saying rapes have been happening in India for ages, there’s no need for someone to take umbrage if it happens now. There can be no answer to such silly questions. Don’t