Akhilesh Singh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 26, 2020)

New Delhi: RSS mouthpiece ‘Panchjanya’, in its latest edition, has done a cover story on Bollywood films in which it has accused actor Aamir Khan of colluding with “anti-India forces”, with specific reference to China and Turkey.

The RSS weekly has been highly critical of the actor who recently called on Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan. The magazine has dubbed Khan as a “favourite” of the Chinese Communist Party, giving an example of how his films have been big hits in China unlike other actors like Salman Khan, whose movies on the same subject couldn’t elicit the same response.

To prove its point, the magazine has cited Khan starrer “Dangal” which did a thriving business of over Rs 1,400 crore unlike Salman Khan’s “Sultan”, which earned Rs 40 crore. A piece in the main feature, “Dragon ka pyara Khan (Dragon loves Khan)”, points out how he has been ambassador of several Chinese brands and is a popular figure among the Chinese people who also refer to him as “Shu” and Uncle “Mi”.

“There is an ecosystem in China controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which impacts trends on its social media and other spheres. Aamir Khan can’t be so popular without support of the Chinese ruling party. Therefore, an obvious question arises what makes him favourite of the Chinese ruling party, which has been conspiring against India,” Panchjanya editor Hitesh Shankar said. “He feels scared in the country, which gave him name and fame on his acting skills and not because of his religion. However, he was happy to be guest of Turkey, which has become a hardline Muslim country,” the magazine says.