From Calling CM Narendra Modi ‘Unpatriotic’ in 2005 to Hailing PM Modi As ‘Inspiring’ in 2019, Aamir Khan Certainly Has Come a Long Way! (Watch Video)

Recently to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, had a get-together with some popular Bollywood celebs at his residence. After all, Bollywood represents the Gandhian values and also Indian Cinema, doesn't it? Ah, anyway, top stars like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Ekta Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Rajkumar Hirani along with other famous film personalities, were a part of this social get-together. The event was also to endorse a special tribute video to Mahatma Gandhi where the stars 'educates' the fans on different Gandhian values. 150 Years Of Celebrating The Mahatma: Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Kangana Ranaut and Other Celebs Recite Bapu's Important Teachings (Watch Video).

The stars also took to social media to post pictures of themselves with Narendra Modi taken from the party. Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan had a special selfie taken with the PM. The latter's office also posted a video on its social media, where both Khans are seeing praising Modi for his initiatives to celebrated what Mahatma Gandhi stands for.

In the video, Aamir was heard saying, "It was a really wonderful interaction we had with the Prime Minister today. He was very inspiring, very warm and very deep in what he had to say."

Watch the video below:

SRK on his Twitter timeline wrote, 'Thank u @narendramodi for hosting us & having such an open discussion on #ChangeWithin & the role artistes can play in spreading awareness of the msgs of The Mahatma. Also the idea of a University of Cinema is extremely opportune!'.

After those selfies and video went viral, all the stars who attended the part came under heavy criticism from many of the Twitterati, who aren't happy with the workings of the Modi government. Especially, SRK and Aamir, who were, till now, making a very neutral stand with regards to their allegiance towards Modi, unlike vocal supporters like Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Kangana  Ranaut et al. Netizens Troll Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan for Clicking a Selfie With PM Modi at the Change Within Event.

Some of their fans reminded the Khan superstars about being silent on the atrocities being on Muslims through lynchings and the lockdown of Kashmir while being loquacious in their praise for PM Modi.

Fan reactions aside, this is in sharp contrast to the stands of the two superstars a couple of years back. Both the Khans had courted controversy when they talked about the rising intolerance in the country. Aamir even went on to say that his wife (Kiran Rao) even suggested leaving the country during a media interaction in 2015. Needless to say, both SRK and Aamir faced repercussions for their statements, with Modi supporters asking them to 'go to Pakistan' if they aren't happy here. When Dilwale was released, it faced protests in certain parts of the country with theatres being closed down. It's another matter that protestors inadvertently proved the point that the Khans raised about rising intolerance.

Anyway, years pass, people change and therefore, opinions too. Like if in 2019, Aamir Khan calls PM Narendra Modi as 'inspiring', that wasn't the exactly the adjective he had for the same personality in 2005, when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. At that time, Modi was facing accusations of fanning the Godhra riots of 2002, and doing nothing to prevent the massacre of thousands.

Three years later, Aamir hadn't yet forgiven Modi then for what happened in Gujarat. At that time, Aamir Khan was also an active supporter of Medha Patkar's Narmada Bachao Andolan, which was a thorn in the eye of the then Gujarat Government (Aamir Khan's Fanaa didn't get a proper release in Gujarat).

In 2005, Aamir was a guest on Indian Express' editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta's NDTV show Walk The Talk. In that show, a video clip of which is going viral right now, Aamir heavily criticised Narendra Modi, going so far as to calling him 'unpatriotic' and 'anti-Indian' and directly accusing him and his party of killing innocents. He also expressed his amazement when he talked about the support Modi was getting in India when he was denied a visa to the USA by the then George Bush-government, over his alleged involvement in the Godhra riots.

Watch the video below:

Later, in a 2006 interview with Rediff, Aamir once again talked about the riots and his ire towards the Modi Government in Gujarat then. He had said, "I strongly feel no innocent Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christians should get killed in riots. I feel all human beings should oppose such people. Those who instigate others in the name of religion are wrong." He also had very strong words for the Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), as he had said then, "I want the people of India to see that, here is a political party that does not believe in democracy. Here is a party that does not believe in the rights of poor people."

So when did the tune get changed? That happened right after the outrage over his 2015 intolerance row settled down. We have had seen Aamir meet the Prime Minister several times to talk to him about the various initiatives to improve the film industry. While he had never so much waxed about the PM, we realised that the tide has been changing. And now, we see the end-results. Well, from accusing him of triggering riots that killed thousands to now hailing him for popularising values of Mahatma Gandhi - the epitome of non-violence - Aamir has certainly come a really long way about his views on Mr Modi. Might we say, he has done a complete 360 degrees here!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 22, 2019 02:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).