Actors who have made Anti-Modi remarks

Love him or hate him, but you cannot ignore him. After winning the Lok Sabha elections with a clear majority, Narendra Modi is certainly the most talked about man today. While the politician has a huge base of fans, there are many critics who have condemned him in the past and are not happy about his victory. TOI.com gives you a list of actors and others associated with Bollywood who have allegedly made anti-Modi remarks in the past…

Shah Rukh Khan: It seems Shah Rukh Khan has courted another controversy with reports doing the round that the superstar has made anti-Modi comments on Twitter. Buzz on the social media suggested that King Khan had once said that he will leave India if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister. However, quoting an actor's fan, a Hindustan Times report says that it was not Shah Rukh Khan but TV actor Kamaal R Khan who had made the statement. It is said that the actor's fan, aka @TheSRKdisciple, has cleared the air and said that it was Kamaal Khan trying to gain political mileage using Shah Rukh's popularity. The report says that Kamaal Khan is using shortened version of his name KRK, and people have gotten him confused with SRK. In fact Shah Rukh has also denied tweeting any anti-Modi campaign.

Kamaal R Khan: Actor-cum-producer Kamaal R Khan, who rose to fame during his controversial stint in Bigg Boss, is known for his big mouth. The TV actor had tweeted he will not only leave Twitter forever but will also leave the country if BJP Chief Minister Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister of India. He had tweeted, “It's my challenge to entire world that if @narendramodi ji will become next PM then I shall not leave only twitter but India also forever". His last tweet says that the actor is on his way out of the country. Well good riddance, we say.

Raza Murad : Bollywood actor Raza Murad courted controversy last year when he took a jibe at Narendra Modi. He was at an Id-ul-Fitr function in Bhopal along with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was wearing a skull cap while greeting Muslims. Taking a potshot at Modi, the actor said it it was time that Modi should not show his "aversion" to this headgear. A Mid-Day report said that the actor had said that Gujarat Chief Minister should learn some thing from his MP counterpart and not show his "aversion" to skull caps. Modi had in 2011 refused to put on a skull cap during his sadbhavana fast in Ahmedabad. However, the actor drew ire of lot of BJP supporters by making such comments. Politician Uma Bharti had gone on record to say that she was really hurt that a “C-grade actor standing beside the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister poked fun at Narendra Modi”.

Chiranjeevi: The actor-turned –politician got the shock of his life when eggs were hurled at him during a public meeting in Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) recently. The actor had made anti-Modi remarks, thus infuriating Modi’s supporters. A PTI report says, while delivering his speech, Chiranjeevi had said, "Modi is a tyrant. He is a Hitler." He also said, "BJP is a communal party and YSR Congress Party has roots in criminal ideology."
The actor also accused him of deliberately sidelining senior BJP leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani to come in the spotlight. His remarks led to violence and police had to be called in to bring the situation under control.

Rakhi Sawant: Bollywood item-girl-turned politician Rakhi Sawant might have lost Lok Sabha Elections from Mumbai's North-West parliamentary constituency, however she never fails to entertain. She made several amusing and controversial comments while campaigning for elections. Not only did she compare AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to an "item boy”, she made a derogatory comment about BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. She said that if the Gujarat Chief Minister can run the country by selling tea, why can't she do being an item girl. Though she did not make any comment against Modi, she just thought that anyone can govern the country, irrespective of their background. Point noted, Rakhi.

Tigmanshu Dhulia: Bollywood filmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia does not believe in mincing words. He ahd made it very clear that he is not a fan of Narendra Modi. In a recent visit to Aligarh Muslim University, the filmaker said he would be 'sad' to see Narendra Modi become PM. "I am not a Modi fan, and it will be sad to see him as the PM.” Talking about why he is not a Modi fan, he said that he does not buy Modi's claims of growth and prosperity in Gujarat. He feels that since Gujarat is a place of business- minded people, it will obviously lead to growth of the place. Though the filmaker did not say anything derogatory about Modi, he clearly said that he is not his fan. We get your point, sir.

Hansal Mehta: Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who was among those from Bollywood who signed 'An Appeal to Voters' urging them "vote for the secular party", has been very vocal about his views on BJP. Speaking to IANS, he said he is "disappointed" with the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections. Like him, there were many Bollywood celebs who had made an appeal to fellow-Indians, asking them to take cognisance of the importance of protecting the "country's secular foundation". Those who had joined him were Imtiaz Ali, Vishal Bhardwaj, Zoya Akhtar, Nandita Das, Shubha Mudgal, Swara Bhaskar and Mahesh Bhatt.

Smriti Irani: Television actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani had shocked her party (BJP) workers in 2004 when she demanded that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi should resign over the Gujarat riots. A PTI report said that the actress, who joined BJP to contest the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from Delhi's Chandni Chowk, told the media in Surat that she would start a 'fast-unto-death' agitation if Modi does not step down. Giving her support to veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she said that Modi's decision not to be step down was "extremely shocking and appalling”. However, after receiving flak by her party leaders, she had to withdraw her statement against Modi.