Suniel Shetty condemns ‘boycott Laal Singh Chaddha, Raksha Bandhan’ trends: ‘Let’s not destroy an industry’

Speaking to The Times Of India, Suniel Shetty said that Aamir Khan could choose to do five films a year if he wanted, but does one film in five years, which he said is something that deserves respect. He referred to Akshay Kumar’s prolific output and said that the actor has been continuously delivering entertaining films. About the boycott trends on social media, he said, “So for that sake let’s not destroy an industry that has its own legacy of good people and people who probably at some stage make mistakes. But aren’t we humans too? Give one that opportunity. I only say it’s not fair. We can only pray that better sense prevails and this doesn’t happen and these two films work big time.”

The boycott trend against Aamir Khan’s film began to grow after people unearthed an old video from 2015, where the actor had spoken about the growing intolerance in the country. Recently, during the promotions of Laal Singh Chaddha, Aamir had made sincere requests to the viewers to not boycott his film.  He also added that he loves his country, contrary to popular belief. “It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way. I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films. Please watch my films,” he had said. At another promotional event, he had also apologised for hurting people’s sentiments.

Akshay Kumar had echoed similar sentiments about his film Raksha Bandhan. He had said at  an event in Kolkata, “It is a free country, everyone can do what they want. But this all (speaking about the two big releases) helps the economy of India. We are all at the verge of becoming the biggest and the greatest country. I would request them (the trolls) and you (the media), don’t get into it.”

Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, which also stars Kareena Kapoor, is a remake of the Hollywood classic, Forrest Gump. On the other hand, Raksha Bandhan is a family drama, directed by Aanand L Rai.