Oct 16, 2026 12:46 pm IST

Opinion | Imran Khan, And The Perils Of Having An 'Opinion' In Bollywood

The reality of the industry is quite grimy. More often than not, its inhabitants have been fairweather friends, happy to sing the praises of whoever is in a position of authority.

Kaveree Bamzai Kaveree Bamzai Reporter

Kaveree Bamzai Reporter

In July, when actor Imran Khan first joined the protests against the NEET paper leak, he said, "True art is going to have an individual artist point of you embedded within it, and as part of our human nature, we are going to have opinion and perspective. If you can't stand by your opinions and if you do not pour your own heart into your art, your art has no value".

By October, when he joined the protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, his mere presence was enough to get him a deportation order from the Mumbai Police. He is contesting it, but it has opened up the debate on the relationship between actors and politics. Those who are chastising Khan for airing his views while being an American citizen and Overseas Citizen of India are the same ones who demand that actors speak up on national issues, from the Union Budget to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protests.

Three Different Assumptions

There are several assumptions here. One, that actors are making art. In a film industry that gravitates around commerce, films are judged by box office revenue, not artistic merit. And the fear of social and commercial boycott of films and advertisements is not conducive to freedom of aesthetic expression. One only has to look at the social media heckling of actor Aamir Khan (also Imran's uncle) after his........

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