Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with Bollywood actors and filmmakers during celebrations to mark Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary and discuss ways to promote Gandhi's initiatives through cinema.
During the interaction, Modi said as India celebrates its 75th Independence Day in 2022, the entertainment industry should showcase the inspiring stories of the country's freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947 and the nation's growth story from 1947 to 2022, according to a statement from his office.
"Spreading the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi through cinema, ensuring more youngsters are well-acquainted with the ideals of Gandhiji... we exchanged thoughts on a wide range of subjects," the Indian premier said.
Pictures and videos titled #ChangeWithin have been doing the rounds on social media.
On Saturday, Rajkumar Hirani shared a short cultural video based on Gandhi's life, teachings and values, featuring big names of Bollywood such as Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt, Salman Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal and Shah Rukh Khan.
Deeply honoured to have played a small part in showcasing Mahatma Gandhiji's greatness. Celebrating and saluting 150 years of the Mahatma #ChangeWithin - https://t.co/HdsUTwCccS
— Rajkumar Hirani (@RajkumarHirani) October 19, 2019
One interesting video found online is that of Shah Rukh and PM Modi's hilarious banter. "Our film and entertainment industry is diverse and vibrant. Its impact internationally is also immense. Our films, music and dance have become very good ways of connecting people as well as societies," Modi added.
Actor @iamsrk says I hugged @aamir_khan, thanks to you PM @narendramodi ji. Witty beginning to his short speech. pic.twitter.com/1zsOO2Dk6k
— FreedomOfSpeech (@meshaurya) October 20, 2019
SRK thanked him for bringing the industry together for such a cause. "I truly believe that Gandhiji needs to be re-loaded. Gandhiji 2.0 is what we need because the world is changing. You have digitalised everything".
Aamir Khan said that he was inspired with the interaction and open discussion. "It was a really wonderful interaction we had with the Prime Minister today. He was very inspiring, very warm and very deep in what he had to say."
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