Bollywood actor Aamir Khan found himself at the centre of a fresh language debate on polling day after a brief but pointed exchange with the media outside a voting booth during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
After casting his vote at a Mumbai polling station, Aamir paused to address reporters and photographers gathered outside. Speaking in Marathi, he urged citizens to step out and participate in the civic polls and praised the smooth arrangements at the booth. However, when a section of the media asked him to repeat his message in Hindi for their audiences, the actor’s response immediately caught attention.
With a smile, Aamir replied, “Hindi mein? Yeh Maharashtra hai, bhai (In Hindi? This is Maharashtra).” The remark, delivered casually, quickly reignited the long-running Hindi versus Marathi language discussion that often surfaces during elections in the state.
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When reporters informed him that his statement would also be broadcast in Delhi, Aamir softened the moment and returned to his original message. “Oh, it will go to Delhi as well? Very good arrangements have been made,” he said, before adding, “I would appeal to everyone: come and cast your valuable vote.”
The short exchange spread rapidly across social media, triggering sharply divided reactions. Some users accused the actor of hypocrisy, pointing to his long association with Hindi cinema. One Instagram comment read, “Toh fir Hindi mai movie kyu banaya hai yeh (Then why did he make his movie in Hindi) (sic)?” Another user remarked, “Hindi se ghar chalta hai… (sic).”
Others rushed to his defence, arguing that the comment was sarcastic and taken out of context. “Oo teri… Log sarcasm nahi samajh paaye (People don’t even get the sarcasm) (sic),” wrote one fan. Another added, “He is talking in sarcastic way (sic).”
The episode once again highlighted how language remains a sensitive and deeply political issue in Maharashtra, especially during elections. Public figures, particularly celebrities with national visibility, often find their words scrutinised far beyond the moment in which they are spoken.
On the professional front, Aamir has been busy behind the scenes as a producer. He recently backed Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, which stars Vir Das, Mithila Palkar, Mona Singh and Sharib Hashmi in pivotal roles. The film has been co-directed by Vir Das and Kavi Shastri.
He is also producing Lahore: 1947, featuring Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta and Karan Deol. Even as his projects move forward, Aamir’s brief polling-day comment shows how, in Maharashtra, language and identity debates are never far from the surface.
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