Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s Balochistan controversy has triggered widespread outrage across social media. The actor, during his appearance at the Joy Forum in Riyadh alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, mentioned that “people from Balochistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan” work in the Middle East — a remark that Pakistani audiences found deeply offensive.
For many Pakistanis, this statement was not a mistake but a reflection of India’s propaganda narrative that attempts to separate Balochistan from Pakistan in international discussions.
However, the issue goes beyond one remark. It highlights the growing pressure on Muslim Indian actors like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aamir Khan to constantly prove their loyalty under Narendra Modi’s Hindutva regime. In today’s India, neutrality can be seen as disloyalty, and silence as defiance.
Facing online hate campaigns, film boycotts, and state-backed censorship, Muslim stars have little choice but to align with the nationalist rhetoric promoted by the ruling BJP. Salman Khan’s comment — whether intentional or not — fits into a pattern where Bollywood is slowly surrendering to Hindutva ideology.
The Salman Khan Balochistan controversy also exposes how pop culture is being used as a soft-power tool to reinforce India’s political stance against Pakistan. By normalizing the separation of Balochistan in casual conversation, Bollywood personalities indirectly legitimize India’s propaganda efforts abroad.
In this tense political climate, Muslim actors often walk a fine line — striving to remain relevant in an increasingly polarized industry while trying not to offend the establishment.
Salman Khan’s Balochistan remark is more than a celebrity slip-up; it is a sign of how Hindutva nationalism has reshaped India’s cultural narrative and silenced dissent in one of the world’s largest film industries.
