Aamir Khan out of Incredible India

Tourism ministry attributes terminaon to end of contract with McCann, which brought in Khan; some suspect Khan's 'intolerance' comments was trigger

Film actor and producer Aamir Khan will cease to be the face of Incredible India, the signature advertising campaign for the tourism ministry to promote India globally, the government confirmed Wednesday late evening, after many twists and turns.

Khan, recipient of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards, has been the ambassador for Incredible India since 2009, when the Congress-led government was in power. And, had continued since the current government took power in 2014.

The current decision is being attributed to Khan’s recent remark on "rising intolerance in India" but the government tried to distance itself from that controversy. The tourism ministry spoke in many voices through the day on the subject. In the evening, minister of state for aviation and tourism Mahesh Sharma confirmed the development through a tweet, often used as the official medium of communication by this government.

“Aamir Khan ceases to be the mascot for government’s Incredible India campaign, contract for which has expired,’’ Sharma tweeted. A few hours before, the ministry had issued a written statement on the Press Information Bureau (PIB) website, that "in response to certain news reports appearing in the media about Aamir Khan, the ministry clarifies there is no change in (its) stand”. And, “the ministry further clarifies that at present it has a contractual agreement with creative agency McCann Worldwide to produce a social awareness campaign and the said campaign featured Aamir Khan”.

While the ministry statement was ambiguous, its officials maintained, off the record till later in the evening, that Khan was still the brand ambassador for Incredible India’ and that "the rumours about Khan being out of the campaign was triggered by a misinterpretation of an RTI (Right to Information) query posed to the government’’.

Prasoon Joshi, lyricist, screen writer and chairman of McCann Worldgroup's Asia Pacific division, told Business Standard in a text message that “McCann had a contract with the ministry of tourism for (the) athithi devo bhava (scheme) which we have delivered’’. Joshi, who’s worked for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on some key campaigns, did not respond to specific queries on whether McCann would continue to work with the ministry on Incredible India or if Khan would remain the brand ambassador.

The ministry is learnt to have had a contract of Rs 2.69 crore with McCann for the campaign, whose contract gets over this month. Khan is believed to have worked on the campaign without a fee. Among others, film star Amitabh Bachchan is engaged in another tourism campaign, for Gujarat.

Sources in the ministry said a fresh tender would be floated soon and there was no decision on whether McCann would get the Incredible India project again. Officials said that there was nothing direct between the ministry and Khan; the deal was between actor and agency.

However, people tracking the sector say a brand endorser who symbolises India is always selected in line with the client's wish — the government or tourism ministry in this case.

Sources said the ministry was now likely to opt as ambassadors for faces who have done the country proud, rather than focusing on a Bollywood personality. They, on the condition of not being named, ruled out Khan being brought again. Among others, the ministry is looking at an autorickshaw driver who saved a foreign tourist as one such ambassador. “We are looking at fresh, unknown faces,’’ an official said.

However, for international promotion, the ministry is expected to select a known famous face again.

Khan, who often tweets his thoughts on social and Bollywood issues, kept silent on Wednesday. His previous tweet was on January 1, wishing everyone “a happy new year”.

Tourism has been a focus area for this government and minister Sharma has often referred to Khan as boosting the image of India. Things seem to have changed after the actor’s November remark at an award function that his wife, Kiran Rao, had asked if they should move out of the country as she feared for the safety of their children in an “environment of intolerance”. Backing writers and intellectuals who had returned national awards in this regard, as a mark of protest, Khan  had said, it was "important that those in power strongly condemn what's wrong".