Why boycott Aamir Khan? 

New Delhi: A bewildering aspect about the "Boycott Aamir Khan" campaign on social media: Ban demands on Khan's to-be-released starrer Lal Singh Chaddha are not even remotely connected to the content of the film.

UPDATE: Laal Singh Chaddha becomes lowest opener for Aamir Khan

Public protests to demand the screening of films -or for ban on circulation of books - have been rather a common phenomenon of Indian political and social life. 

During the Emergency of the seventies, movies including the "Kissa Kursi Ka" (As political spoof on the Emergency) and Aandhi (loosely based on the life of Indira Gandhi) had faced temporary bans. 

In the aftermath of the Gujarat communal riots of 2002, the Naseeruddin Shah starrer "Parzania" was prevented from being screened in Gujarat, while the 2008 movie titled "Firaaq" (also based on the Gujarat riots) had also met a similar fate. 

Film makers such as Deepa Mehta had faced tough times with the moral policing brigade as well. Shiv Sainiks reportedly vandalised the sets of her film titled "Fire" - which dealt with lesbian relationships. Her other film - titled Water- which explored the lives of widows at Varanasi -also generated its share of controversy. 

A 2010 documentary called Insha Allah Football -narrating the travails of a boy who fails to achieve his sporting ambitions because his father is charged with militancy - was also denied a censor certification. 

Several Marathi plays including Vijay Tendulkar's Sakharam Binder or "Jai Bhim Jai Bharat" or "Mi Nathuram Godse Bolte" have been on the banned list. 

Books having faced bans include Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, Michael Edwardes' Nehru, a Political Biography, Taslima Nasrin's Dwaikhandito and the James Lane book titled Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India.

Why Aamir Khan? 

Aamir Khan has not only delivered quality films depicting sensitive social issues (Taare Zamin Par, Dangal), but has also played strong nationalistic characters. 

In Lagaan, he played Bhuvan - who inspires fellow villagers to take up the challenge of an arrogant officer of the colonial British rulers. 

In "Sarfarosh", he played ACP Rathore, who fights and defeats a Pakistan-inspired Islamist conspiracy. 

The only time he has played a Muslim terrorist was in the 2006 film Fanna, in which he gets killed by his Hindu companion. 

This body of work notwithstanding, Khan has been at the receiving end of the ire of Hindu groups - largely because of his stand on social/political issues. Fanna was banned in Gujarat, apparently because of Khan's publicly stated position on the Narmada Bachao Movement. 

Satyamev Jayate, the television serial he anchored to highlight social issues, had been at the centre of controversy too - with sections alleging that donation money for the program was being used to construct Madrasas. 

Ahead of the August 11 release of Lal Singh Chaddha - an official remake of the 1994 Hollywood classic Forrest Gump -Khan's 2015 statement has been dug up, when he had said that "India is a tolerant country but some people are spreading ill will". 

He is also being badgered for having quoted his then wife Kiran Rao as having said that "she was scared for her children and was mulling the option of moving to another country". 

Some Khan baiters have also objected to his 2020 meeting with the First Lady of Turkey - a country that was blatantly supporting Pakistan's position on Kashmir".

Marketing Gimmick? 

It is not uncommon for movie producers to release peppered and often controversial promos before the official film launch with the idea of spiking up viewership.

The curious case of Lal Singh Chadha is that the film itself has remained non controversial, while the lead actor has been generating all the noise for extraneous reasons.