Bollywood star Aamir Khan under pressure in India over his popularity in China

India’s hardline RSS Hindu group put the Muslim star on the cover of its magazine, calling him ‘The Dragon’s favourite Khan’ in reference to China

Khan is an ambassador for Vivo and has over a million Weibo followers, but this and his ties to Turkey have been highlighted amid China-India tensions

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Indian Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s massive popularity in China has given India's Hindu far-right critics a new line of attack, following a deadly clash along the disputed border in the Himalayas. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:45pm, 27 Aug 2020Updated: 10:15pm, 27 Aug 2020

Muslim Bollywood star Aamir Khan has long been a hate figure for India’s Hindu far-right, but now they have a new line of attack – his massive popularity in China.

Khan, 55, is a brand ambassador for Chinese smartphone maker Vivo, and is also a major draw on the mainland with films such as Dangal (2016). He even has 1.16 million followers on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo.

But this week the hardline Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Hindu group put the actor on the cover of its magazine, calling him “The Dragon’s favourite Khan”, a reference to China.

Indian Bollywood actor Aamir Khan. Photo: AFP

Also criticising Khan’s ties with Turkey – which has slammed India over Kashmir – the article said he was “forging friendships with those that are considered enemies of India”.

“Aamir seems to be the favourite of the Chinese Communist Party system and the fact his movies are doing so well is an indication that he is being promoted by the Chinese state,” the editor of the weekly Hitesh Shankar told a news website.