Big B replaces Aamir Khan in Incredible India campaign

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is the new spokesperson of the government's Incredible India campaign to market the country to tourists abroad. The veteran actor is to receive a letter on Friday, said sources, informing him of his selection.

Bachchan is being recruited directly by the government, unlike actor Aamir Khan, who was removed from the campaign on Wednesday evening. Amid reports that Khan was being removed for suggesting recently that India is experiencing growing religious intolerance, Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said that the actor featured in the Incredible India campaign through an ad agency, McCann Erickson, whose contract with the government had expired.


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Aamir Khan on Thursday, stressing that he had been the campaign spokesperson for 10 years, said, "It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be. I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services."

"Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and that's the way it should be," the ace actor said.