August 6, 2017
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan on Sunday revealed that he and
his wife Kiran Rao are down with swine flu.
The "Dangal" actor, along
with his wife, were scheduled to attend the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, organised
by their NGO Paani Foundation, in Pune on Sunday but could only address the
attendees via Skype.
"It's a happy day but we are very sad... because
after working so hard for a year, when the time came for us to celebrate with
you, we got this illness. And the disease we are suffering from is one which
spreads rapidly. It's called H1N1 or swine flu in common usage," the 52-year-old
Aamir, who looked haggard, said in a video message Aamir said, though Kiran
smiled and tried to appear cheerful.
"The problem with swine flu is if I
go anywhere, I will give it to other people so we have been forced to stay at
home for a week. And that is why we can't be there with you and we're very sad
about it."
Aamir asked Shah Rukh Khan to fill in for him who agreed,
Smriti Kiran, who was at the event with Anupama Chopra as Kiran Rao's friend and
collaborator on MAMI, posted on social media.
"Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao
both have swine flu, so couldn't make it for the finale. Both plug into the
event via Skype and say that today is Friendship Day, so they requested Shah
Rukh Khan to represent them at the Paani Foundation Cup finale," she said.
Anupama Chopra also tweeted: "Big props to SRK for being here! Aamir Khan
said today (Aug. 6) is Friendship Day so he reached out to a friend and asked
him to take his place.!"
Among the guests at the event were Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Nita Ambani, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ashutosh
Gowariker, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ram Madhvani and Nagraj Man Jule.
Maharashtra is among the worst-hit states by swine flu, which has claimed the
lives of over 300 people since January, including almost 150 during the current
monsoon.
Among the affected regions are Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik
where many patients are also currently under treatment in various hospitals.