Big moments it is said occur only in retrospect. When one is going through them, they are mere obstacles one is trying to overcome.

This is true in the case of Aamir Khan. Two years ago the actor was introduced to the Narmada Bachao Andolan by his filmmaker cousin Mansoor Khan. Instinctly drawn but not in the mindframe to commit himself, Aamir waited and watched the growing agitation from a distance. As seasons changed and a new order came into his personal life, Aamir was ready to make a commitment. He had become sensitised and stated that he would support Medha Patkar and the movement irrespective of the consequences.

The issue here is not whether celebrities help or hinder a cause but whether celebrities making a living out of a different profession have the right to jeopardise interests of those associated with them. That the pro-Narmada dam activists have pulled down posters and stalled the screening of Aamir’s Rang De Basanti all over Gujarat and called for a boycott of products endorsed by him (Coca-Cola, Innova Toyota cars), including freeze of advertisements featuring the actor on the big and the small screen, is an alarming indicator.

Like all budding activists Aamir today stands at a crucial junction in his life. On one side is his commitment to his profession. On the other, a newfound ideology. The actor is at liberty to choose his path but not before he has revised his ground rules and clarified them to his investors (advertisement and filmmakers).

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