Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla on Sunday said Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is the most recognized and loved Indian globally after Mahatma Gandhi.
Taking to Twitter, the former Bigg Boss contestant wrote: "Every country that I have visited, when I tell people that I am from India, they invariably say "Shah Rukh Khan". He does not spend tax payers money for image building & is genuinely loved!"
However, Poonawalla's tweet recevied mixed reactions from Twitter users.
"Tehseen I don't really appreciate the comparison with Gandhiji. SRK is liked by a lot of people all over the world but he has not sacrificed his life for our country. He is an good artist, he may have a fan following but he is not revered," said Anti-Corruption Activist Anjali Damania.
"Shah Rukh Khan's PR is on fire," wrote another Twitter user.
Check out the reactions below:
This comes amid the ongoing investigation of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan in the Mumbai drugs bust case.
For the unversed, the 23-year-old was arrested on October 3 with seven others when the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted a drugs party on board a cruise ship. He is currently in Arthur Road prison after a Mumbai court rejected his bail plea.
Meanwhile, several personalities from the Hindi film industry, including veteran actor-politician Raj Babbar, actor Shekhar Suman, music composer Vishal Dadlani rallied behind Shah Rukh Khan and said the hardships won't "deter his soul".
Babbar, actor and Congress leader, took to Twitter on Sunday to express his solidarity with Shah Rukh. "He came, faced and achieved a conquest unparalleled. I have known @iamsrk for long to know hardships won't deter his soul. As the world teaches his young boy through wounds, I am sure the fighter's son will definitely fight back. Blessings to the young man," the 69-year-old wrote.
In a tweet late Saturday evening, Suman recalled how Shah Rukh was the only colleague from the industry who had reached out to him when his elder son had passed away.
The 58-year-old actor wrote he is pained to know what Shah Rukh must be going through as a parent. "When I lost my elder son Aayush at age 11, Shahrukh Khan was the only actor who came to me personally while I was shooting at film city, hugged me and conveyed his condolences. I'm extremely pained to know what he must be going through as a father @iamsrk," he wrote.
Composer Vishal Dadlani tweeted late Saturday night that he stands with Shah Rukh in these difficult times. He wrote the superstar's family is being used as "a soft target" to divert attention from the drugs seizure at the Adani-operated Mundra port in Gujarat's Kutch district and the October 3 Lakhimpur violence in Uttar Pradesh in which eight persons including four farmers were killed.
"SRK and his family are being used as a smokescreen, a soft target to distract from the 3000kg Talibani-drug haul at the Adani port, and to distract from the murder of farmers by the son of a BJP member/MLA. Straight-up," he alleged.
They join a growing list of people from Bollywood who have come out in support of Shah Rukh and his wife Gauri Khan. Earlier, filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Farah Khan, Hansal Mehta, actors Hrithik Roshan, Raveena Tandon, Pooja Bhatt, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, Somy Ali and comedian Johnny Lever come out in support of the family.
