Is PM Narendra Modi helping Aamir Khan promote Satyamev Jayate?

At Chale Chalo’s late night press conference held at Yashraj studios, a frail looking old gentleman showered ample praise Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate (SMJ) for having galvanized the voters of the country to vote for change this time. The septuagenarian also sought to credit the actor for having helmed this movement which resulted in the change in governance at the Center. An embarrassed Aamir politely declined from accepting the compliment and answered, “Why are you crediting me for the same. We don’t get into politics in SMJ. In my personal life too, I stay away from politics.” Just three weeks later, Aamir surprised all and sundry by meeting PM Shri. Narendra Modi. Surprising because Modi was the same man against whom Aamir once mounted an all-out attack for the Gujarat government’s helplessness and failure in containing violence in Vadodara. So exactly why did our Prime Minister acquiesce to ‘meet and greet’ his one-time critic? Now that’s a tough conundrum to crack. Speculations are rife that it was Aamir who extended the olive branch to PM Modi. But then, has Modi forgotten and forgiven Aamir’s tireless charade against the Gujarat government that he (Modi) once led? Well, after this ‘meet and greet’ session at the PMO’s office, it certainly seems ‘Aal is well’ between the two now. As they say, there are no permanent friends or foes in Bollywood; the same stands true for Indian politics as well where the power of the chair you occupy can turn your sworn enemy into a bosom buddy. While Aamir certainly has not officially started endorsing the BJP and has preferred to remain at an arm’s length from the P of politics, his intention behind meeting the PM became evidently clear when he arrived with a bunch of Satyameva Jayate DVDs in hand. With the popular talk show slated to go on air soon with its second installment, Aamir is seeking to pull all stops in marketing it widely and he started with the most popular man in India right now – Shri. Narendra Modi. Immediately after meeting the PM, Aamir tweeted: “Just came out of my meeting with Honorable Prime Minister of India Shree Narendra Modiji. Was very kind of him to spare his valuable time...Shared with him the overwhelming support that we got from people across the country through Vote for Change Campaign... on SMJ on the various issues that we tackled in our show. He has assured me that he will look into all the matters.” While the Vote For Change episode did focus on criminalisation of politics in India and thereby urging the voters to cast their votes to make a difference; Aamir never even once suggested that Modi could be or should be the change. But with the mandate having strongly favoured Modi and BJP, Aamir perhaps thought he is the right man to reach out who could bring about a mass awakening on the issues that are dealt with in SMJ. Aamir has always maintained that it is their aim through SMJ to awaken the masses and enlighten them on critical issues that deeply affect our society. “In SMJ, we take up issues that touch the heart and soul of every Indian. And those issues are connected and related to human beings. So it’s our endeavour through the show to awaken the country and every citizen of this country and make them aware of these issues,” said Aamir. Now if there is one man who could possibly remedy the various problems showcased and debated in SMJ, it has to be Shri. Narendra Modi. If Aamir is to be believed then Narendra Modi has assured to look into all the issues raised on SMJ. While the promos of the second installment of SMJ are yet to go on air, it remains to be seen if Aamir and team have shot a special video with Shri. Modi. Knowing Aamir’s penchant for innovative marketing campaigns, it may not be wrong to surmise and speculate on NaMo’s appearance in one of the issue based episodes of SMJ. And our PM too, we feel, would be more than eager to lend a helping hand to such a socially relevant program. But then, the question is – Will the Prime Minister readily promote Aamir Khan’s SMJ? Only time will tell.