As per Forrest Gump, life is as a chocolate box because “you don’t know what you’ll find”. In the present, an Indian adaptation of the film has been hampered by protests over decades-old remarks made by Aamir Khan. It’s the latest illustration that shows the way Bollywood actors, specifically Muslims like Khan are feeling more pressure from the leadership of Prime of the country Narendra Modi.

The Indian film, Laal Singh Chaddha which is which is a spin-off of the 1994 Hollywood film starring Tom Hanks is set to be among the biggest Indian films of the year.

This is in large part due to the film’s main actor, 57-year-old Khan Khan, who is one of the Indian film industry’s most popular actors who has appeared in blockbusters such as Three Idiots (2009) and Dangal (2016).

But in the lead up to the Aug 11 release date, the internet is full of videos from an interview from 2015 in which Khan revealed his growing “sense of anxiety” and also that Khan and his wife were discussing the possibility of leaving India.

“She worries about her child. She is worried about the environment around us will be. She is afraid to read the newspaper each day,” he said.

More than 200,000 tweets, many from supporters of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been shared since last month calling for people to spurn the movie with the hashtag #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha.

“Aamir Khan was married to the couple of Hindu Women, yet named his children Junaid, Azad & Ira. (Hindu actor) Kareena (Kapoor) married an Muslim and promptly gave her kids the names Taimur and Jehangir,” said one tweet, which was referring to the common Muslim names.

“That’s enough reason to not boycott Lal Singh Chaddha which is a production of the Bollywood’s Love Jihad club. #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha,” it added, using a derogatory term coined by Hindu extremists who accuse Muslim men of marrying Hindu women and forcing them to convert.

Patriotism

The nickname is “Mr Perfectionist”, Khan has been credited with pushing movies beyond the traditional Bollywood music and dance to explore issues of cultural and social.

Also, he hosted his own television chat show called Satyamev Jayate –where he discussed controversial topics such as domestic violence, rape and corruption.

The controversy surrounding his new film — which is based on the well-known line of Hanks to claim”life is like a golgappa “life is like an ogre” — is so intense the that last week Khan declared his patriotism, an important tenet of the Modi government.

“I am sad to know that some of those… think that I’m someone who doesn’t want India,” he told local media.

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“That’s not the situation. Please don’t boycott my movie. Please enjoy my film.”

Intolerance

Films have for a long time provoked controversy, and violence in India.

However, the rage felt by Khan Khan, who is among several Muslim stars in the industry alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan reflect the increasing intolerance, discrimination and the vilification of the Muslim community, say commentators.

“There there is absolutely no doubt Aamir is targeted by people who spread hatred against Muslims,” one commentator claimed.

Hindu hegemony

Modi’s BJP is a direct descendent of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) an extremist group that favored Hindutva or creating India an exclusive Hindu state.

The lynching of Muslims by Hindu mobs in protest of cow protection as well as other hate incidents have created fear in the 200million Muslim population.

Social media is filled with false information that claims Muslims are set to soon surpass Hindus because of inter-religious marriages or that Muslims are considered a fifth column of treason, that is backed by Pakistan.

Gung-ho

Some critics say that the world’s largest movie industry as well as its star actors have been slowly shifting their production to conform to the official narrative since Modi was elected in 2014.

In the year 2019 the fake “PM Narendra Modi” was too much for the electoral watchdog who delayed the release until after a voter in the year.

There’s been a recent number of films with military themes which have been patriotic with all-guns-blazing tales about heroic actions by police and soldierstypically Hindus against foes both within and outside India.