Akshay, Aamir, Advani and Accolades

Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan, after winning Indian National Award 'Padamshri' and NDTV's 'Best Entertainer of the year,' respectively, have been expressing their gratitude to the nation. And so is India's Leader of the Opposition who has been showing his admiration for Aamir's directorial debut 'Taare Zamin Par'. It's good to see politicians showing their interest in Indian cinema. Though, it's a bit ironical that it's the same Aamir Khan whose films for some time were banned by Mr. Advani's 'Taara Zamin Par'- Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Interestingly, Akshay, showing incredible humility, dedicated one of his film awards to Aamir's performance in blockbuster 'Ghajini'.

Aamir Khan expressed his thanks: “I am really grateful for the faith everyone has shown in my films. It has been really encouraging. I have to say that whatever I have achieved today is the result of the kind of support and collective input of my entire team of every film that I have been a part of.”
    
However, commenting on the upcoming General Elections, Aamir said, "I request our politicians to act responsibly and field candidates with a clean track record and intelligence to govern the country".

Akshay and his humility

Dedicating the Padmashri award to his fans, Actor Akshay Kumar said that it was an extremely wonderful and most humbling honour. "I cannot hide how overwhelmed and speechless I am, for this unexpected recognition of my work, my passion, but I must say that it's all because of the people, my audiences I am only here today because of them," Akshay said.

"I will cherish this as one of the most memorable moments in my life and my family's life. I really cannot express how touched I am," he said.

At a television awards function, where he received one for the best host of a reality show, the actor had lamented that he had bagged one award within a year of appearing on television while despite being in the film industry for 19 years; he did not get a single popular film award.

Recently, he was given the 'Best Actor Popular Choice Award' for Singh is Kinng at an awards function, but he dedicated the award to Aamir Khan for his performance in Ghajini and left the stage without collecting the trophy.

Advani likes Aamir but Modi hates...

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, writing on his blog, praised Aamir: “Aamir’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’ is a beautiful film whose story hinges around a nine-year old boy afflicted with dyslexia, an ailment that affects a child’s brain resulting in his inability to see the difference between the shapes of letters. The affliction causes what can colloquially be described as ‘word blindness’.”

“Many in India are anxiously looking forward to (film’s music composer A.R.) Rahman as well as the film bagging several Oscars as well. Already, the film has earned as many as ten nominations,” he wrote.

Even 'Taare Zamin Par' was attacked in Gujarat

One wishes Mr. Advani had restrained his party's blue-eyed boy Mr. Modi and his followers from banning Aamir's films in Gujarat. 

If any one needs a re-cap, here's an item from India's prestigious paper The Hindu.

The Hindu
December 22, 2007: The Aamir Khan-directed children’s film Taare Zameen Par was released in Gujarat on Friday except in Vadodara where cinema owners were in a dilemma following an agitation by a section of people.

About two dozen youth volunteers of the Sardar Patel Sena, agitating in Vadodara for the last couple of days, tore off the film posters at a cinema hall. The reason for the agitation was the same for which the Aamir Khan-starrer Fanaa was not allowed to be released in the State earlier. The protesters were demanding an unconditional apology from the actor to the people of the State for supporting the cause of the people displaced by the Narmada dam project.

The agitation, however, remained confined to Vadodara this time. Moreover, no other organisation joined the Sena brigade. Hence cinema owners in other areas released the film.

With the agitation in Vadodara losing steam, theatre owners there are also re-assessing the situation to release the film in a day or two.

Aamir Khan’s films were virtually “banned” in Gujarat after he expressed sympathy with the agitation launched by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar last year. This “hurt” the sentiments of the people of the State who overwhelmingly support the dam project.

The BJP Yuva Morcha and various other organisations resisted the release of Fanaa until Aamir Khan issued a public apology.

The film was screened only for three days at a cinema in Jamnagar, owned by a Congress leader, and was withdrawn following immolation by a youth protesting against the release of the film. It has not yet been released in any other part of the State.

Following the disturbances, cinema owners apprehended that Taare Zameen Par might meet the same fate as Fanaa, The Hindu ends its report.