Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 76 on September 17, and by evening half of Bollywood had shown up in his Instagram mentions. Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn all posted birthday notes for him, and according to DNA India, the response from a chunk of their own fan base was not the warm feeling they were probably going for.

Shah Rukh's message, put up on his Instagram story, read: "Here's wishing you a very Happy Birthday, Honourable PM @narendramodi ji. To many more years of good health, happiness and fulfilment. May you always carry the strength and positivity to inspire the nation."

Salman Khan kept his shorter and switched to Hindi. "Janam Din Mubarak Ho Honourable P M Sahab. Wish you a very Happy Birthday, Narendra Bhai Modi. Jai Hind," he wrote.

Ajay Devgn went the other way, with a long note about "seva" and the PM's commitment to what he called the last person in the last row, wishing him continued health and strength for years to come.

DNA India reported that Akshay Kumar was the one who kicked off the trend of birthday wishes, and Filmfare's list of well-wishers ran even longer, naming Shilpa Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Paresh Rawal, Mohanlal and Mahesh Babu among the celebrities who put up their own posts.

The pushback, per DNA India, came fast and did not spare anyone. One self-described SRK fan wrote that they had "respected you more than my own father" and accused the actor of having "lost all that respect now" for what they called bowing before the PM. A comment aimed at Salman argued that when institutions themselves bow to power, actors go a step further and "crawl at the feet of the powerful," with "no principles, no spine." Ajay Devgn drew the sharpest line, with one user linking the tribute to his Vimal endorsements and tagging it with #boycottbollywood.

None of the three actors has responded to the criticism, and there's no indication any of them plan to. This isn't new territory. Bollywood's biggest names have wished the PM on his birthday for years running, and the online reaction has followed a similar shape each time, warm from some corners, hostile from others.

For Shah Rukh, the timing lands right as he gears up for King, his Siddharth Anand-directed actioner with Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, due in theatres December 24. Whether Wednesday's noise carries any weight into that release conversation is a separate question, and not one social media seems to be asking yet.