Aamir Khan gets full security in Meerut after Khaap killing

The murder in Bulandshahr of Abdul Hakim, a participant in Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate episode on honour kill, sent shockwaves across the country. Coincidentally on Monday Aamir happened to be quite close to the scene of the grisly crime in Meerut to meet Hindi crime-fiction writer Ved Prakash Sharma. Understandably, Aamir who was shocked by the crime, spoke to the Meerut media expressing his strongest disapproval at the killing of a man who dared to marry outside his community. Apparently Aamir’s public expression of disapproval at a sensitive volatile issue put the Meerut administration on high alert, and he was escorted out of the city under heavy security. Says a member of Aamir’s team, “We don’t know how much danger Aamir’s vocal disapproval of the killing put him under. But the local administration in Meerut certainly took serious note of his concern for the killing and the negative effect Aamir’s utterances might have had on certain radical sections of people in and around Meerut. Bulandshahr where the killing happened is only 42 miles away from Meerut. The administration felt that there could be a backlash.” Aamir, apparently, was unfazed. However the Meerut administration insisted on escorting the actor’s team out of Meerut on their journey by road to Delhi. Says Aamir’s team member, “We were accompanied by a posse of policemen and security personnel. It took quite a while for them to be collected together to accompany Aamir’s road journey to Delhi from Meerut. By the time Aamir reached Delhi it was almost morning the next day.” The actor was actually in Meerut to meet pulp crime publisher and writer Ved Prakash Sharma. Says Aamir’s team member, “Talaash is a crime saga in the old tradition of pulp crime thrillers. Meerut is the only city where a culture of crime fiction still exists. Aamir was in the city to meet Hindi crime fictioner Ved Prakash Sharma who wrote crime bestsellers such as Pishach Sundari, Phir Aaya Toofan, Dadkan, etc.” Apparently there are plans to convert the screenplay of Talaash into a novel after the film’s release.