Snapdeal pays dearly as Aamir steps on a communication land mine that SRK so shrewdly avoided

(Aamir Khan has issued a statement later in the day saying “I stand by everything that I have said in my interview.” Click here for the complete statement. )

New Delhi: Aamir Khan is a master communicator in his movies. But in the past, his attempts to champion popular causes like the Narmada Bacho Aandolan have often resulted in him eating his words. His heart may be in the right place but like his show ‘Satyamev Jayate’, it often over-dramatises.

For such a ’thinking’ man, who wears his Lagaan patriotism on his sleeve, to not have anticipated the backlash over his comments shows both poor timing and poor judgement.

Aamir selling his ‘dil ki deal’ to desis for Snapdeal can’t suddenly leave a question about ‘quitting India’ half hanging in the air - that’s unfair to millions of his fans, whatever be their political leanings.

The question, of course, is his response to wife Kiran’s on whether they should leave India on fears about the atmosphere of intolerance currently prevailing. What was his response to Kiran?

Aamir should take a leaf out of the other Khan’s book. Shah Rukh was much smarter when earlier this month he touched the intolerance live-wire. Not only did Shah Rukh speak his mind, clearly, on the subject, he also perhaps anticipated the surge of “go to Pakistan” threats from trolls and declared during the NDTV interview, “I am an India-born movie star. I am an India-born Indian. I am Indian - how does that get questioned? Nobody has more right to live in this country than me and I am not going to leave. So shut up”.

Shah Rukh communicated to even those who were looking for an opportunity to trash his remarks that he would stay in India and take the blows on his chin. And that no one should question his patriotism, so what if he is a Muslim?

Aamir, in contrast, communicated the thought of his wife wanting to pack her bags and leave. Both Aamir and Shah Rukh have Hindu wives but King Khan shrewdly also let it be known that he has not forced his children to follow Islam.

“In my house, everyone is free to follow their religion. My kids were confused about whether they were Muslim or Hindu, I said ‘why not Christian’?”

So clearly, while Shah Rukh said his piece after some deliberation, touching upon the sensitivities and taking care to send the right message of a patriotic Indian Muslim questioning the atmosphere of intolerance, Aamir’s outburst seems just that: speech which had not been thought through.

Of course, Shah Rukh’s life has not been easy after such remarks but the backlash Aamir is facing is far worse.

Make no mistake, the volley of hate tweets, threats that Aamir has received after his remarks cannot in any way be justified. But Aamir needs to communicate effectively, clearly and keeping Indians’ sensitivities in mind.

Indians, specially those glued to social media, are hysterical and known to vent frustrations at unlikely targets. Is it any surprise then that angered beyond measure by Aamir’s comments, they have chosen to punish etail giant Snapdeal too?

Aamir Khan has been the brand ambassador of Snapdeal, selling ‘Dil ki Deal’ to millions of Indians excited by the prospect of getting deep discounts plus the convenience of buying anything, from lingerie to expensive jewelry, at the click of a mouse.

The trolls have seen Snapdeal as an extension of Aamir and have been downgrading the Snapdeal app on the Google playstore besides asking each other to boycott the etailer.

Today, Snapdeal sought to distance itself from the Aamir Khan tsumani by saying, “Snapdeal is neither connected nor plays a role in comments made by Aamir Khan in his personal capacity. Snapdeal is a proud Indian company built by passionate young Indians focused on building an inclusive digital India. Everyday we are positively impacting thousands of small businesses and millions of consumers in India. We will continue towards our mission of creating one million successful online entrepreneurs in India.”

Why should Snapdeal be the victim of its brand ambassador’s poor communication skills which have lead to questions about his patriotism? So intense has been the backlash that arch rival Flipkart too thought it wise to point out there was no connection between the brand and the personal views of its ambassador.

Sachin Bansal tweeted: “This is a flawed logic.Brands dont buy into brand ambassadors personal opinions. Snapdeal shouldnt face this”.

Bansal, of course, is right. Omega watches does not suffer because of George Clooney’s political views on Darfur or which candidate he supports during the US Presidential elections.

Aamir, we need some answers. We need you to clarify if you indeed want to leave India or was your discussion with Kiran just an expression of an apprehension which many others like you feel but stay put anyway. We need you to communicate.