Bollywood Actor Aamir Khan on Saturday (August 15) called on Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan at the presidential residence in Istanbul, state run Anadolu Agency reported.
The report said that Aamir Khan had sought the meeting update about the work carried out by his non-profit, non-government organization Paani Foundation, which works in the area of drought prevention and watershed management in the drought hit regions of interior Maharashtra.
The report also noted that the actor praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting ‘humanitarian projectes’ like education of women and children. The First Lady is said to have congratulated the actor for “courageous handling of social problems” in his films.
Both of them also discussed about similarities of Turkish and Indian cultures including food habit and handicrafts. The actor is said to have shared about how his Muslim mother’s influence shaped the actor’s entry into cinema.
I had the great pleasure of meeting @aamir_khan, the world-renowned Indian actor, filmmaker, and director, in Istanbul. I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ in different parts of Turkey. I look forward to it! pic.twitter.com/3rSCMmAOMW
— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) August 15, 2020
The meeting between the two comes against the backdrop of sour relations between the two countries as Turkey has been moving closer towards Pakistan and China. It has been trying to forge an non-Arab alliance including Pakistan and Malaysia as alternative to the Arab dominated OIC to put pressure on India. However, his efforts are only facing a setback. Apart from this, intelligence agencies have raised red flags over influence of Turkey in Indian campuses to spread Islamic ideology. State-sponsored NGOs in Turkey are giving scholarships and exchange programs for Indian Kashmiri and Muslim students. Turkey has been using education as a tool to spread its influence around the world.
Aamir Khan in 2015 had claimed that his wife had suggested leaving India as they felt a sense of insecurity and fear. This was during the time when the debate of ‘intolerance’ was going around.
Aamir Khan is in Turkey to wrap up the shoot of his upcoming movie Lal Singh Chaddha an adaptation of the 1994 Hollywood classic Forrest Gump.