Aamir Khan meets Turkey's First Lady, draws criticism on Twitter

Emine hosted Khan at the presidential residence in the country's capital. It was Khan who initiated the meeting, said Turkish media reports.

Khan is learned to have told Emine, Erdogan's wife, about the socially-relevant projects he undertook, including the Paani Foundation.

He also told her about his wife's brief stay in Turkey, about his mother Zeenat Hussain, and his association with cinema.

Sharing images from their meeting on Twitter, Emine wrote she had a fruitful conversation with Khan. "I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie Laal Singh Chaddha in different parts of Turkey," her Twitter post read.

The movie, a remake of 1994 Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, will be shot in Nigde, Adana, and Istanbul.

However, the smiling pictures of Khan and Emine miffed many, who slammed the actor for not considering how Turkey has been running a concerted campaign against India.

Erdogan's regime sided with Pakistan last year after India abrogated Article 370, which bestowed a special status to J&K.

Turkey had questioned the move, citing "excesses" by Indian forces in the Valley and called it "humanitarian crisis."

Turkey supporting Pakistan is not the only driving force behind poor ties between Ankara and New Delhi. In July, an HT report said that Erdogan was emboldening radical outfits in Kashmir and Kerala.

A senior government official said that India assessed Turkey "as the hub of anti-India activities" after Pakistan.

Turkey wanted to exert influence among South Asian Muslims to challenge Saudi Arabia globally.

The report added that several religious seminars are being funded by the Erdogan government. The country also takes few freshly-minted radicals to Turkey to "reinforce their beliefs."

Additionally, Indian intelligence officials learned of a Kerala-based outfit that has been receiving funds from Turkey quite frequently.

Some members of this group also traveled to Qatar to seek money from people from Turkey, an official added.

Naturally, his proximity with Emine got Khan ire. Few Twitter users asked to keep his political views in mind before watching his movies.

"Did Aamir Khan meet Turkey's President, Erdogan, and his family as an Actor or as Ambassador of somebody else? This meeting shouldn't be taken as an ordinary meeting, (sic)" one person wrote.

Another reminded that he didn't attend the Shalom India fest.