Aamir Khan faces religious and political backlash over third marriage to Gauri Spratt

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan married longtime partner Gauri Spratt in an intimate civil ceremony on July 5 2026 under the Special Marriage Act. The union, his third marriage, sparked a wave of controversy in India.

Maharashtra ministers Nitesh Rane and Sanjay Shirsat of the Shiv Sena labelled Khan a "brand ambassador of love jihad" and urged the Hindu community to reconsider watching his films. Separately, Shahi Chief Mufti Maulana Ibrahim Hussain issued a fatwa declaring the marriage "haraam" because Gauri is not Muslim, stating that a Muslim man may not marry a non‑Muslim woman unless she converts.

Khan responded in interviews, rejecting the love‑jihad allegations and emphasizing that all his marriages were civil ceremonies with no religious conversion. He said Gauri is a Christian, not a Hindu, and that none of his former wives converted to Islam. He highlighted his family's history of inter‑faith relationships and called the debate “comical”.

The episode has also drawn satire from entertainers, with TV host Shekhar Suman joking about Khan's “triple engine” marriage, while public debate continues over inter‑faith unions and political rhetoric.