Actor Aamir Khan on Sunday said he was disheartened after a section of social media users called for a boycott of his upcoming film Lal Singh Chaddha over a comment he made in 2015 about intolerance in India, PTI reported.

“I really love India...That’s how I am,” Khan said. “It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way. I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films, please watch my films.”

Over the last few days, several Twitter users have been putting up posts using hashtags such as #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha and #Boycottaamirkhan.

The movie is slated for release on August 11.

They cited the actor’s seven-year-old remarks about the growing intolerance in India and how his former wife Kiran Rao had suggested they might leave the country.

In 2015, while speaking at an award function, Khan had said that Rao was worried that India was no longer a safe place to live, purportedly referring to the discussion on religious minorities being persecuted in the aftermath of the Dadri lynching.

On September 28, 2015, a mob had killed Akhlaq in the Bisada village in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district on the suspicion that he had stored beef.

Khan was subsequently dropped as the ambassador of the Tourism Ministry’s Incredible India campaign.