Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan Bashing Harms Bollywood
On December 16 last year we had put up a guest blog post on Koimoi.com titled, In Defense Of Shah Rukh Khan. Koimoi.com and the writer received a lot of feedback, some good, some not so good. Here’s what the writer has to say about the ‘negative’ feedback he received…
Shah Rukh Khan & Salman Khan
Less than a month ago, Koimoi.com was kind enough to share a blog post of mine titled, In Defense of Shah Rukh Khan. Since then I have received a lot of feedback, some positive and mostly negative, regarding the short piece I wrote, which analysed promotional strategies and the recent controversies Shah Rukh Khan had been embroiled in. Before I begin this post, discussing how excessive bashing of other stars is detrimental to Bollywood as a whole, let me tell you a little about my experience after the entry appeared on Koimoi.com….
I was swarmed by a ton of tweets and comments stating anything and everything from “Salman Khan is the best actor” to downright racist and homophobic insults directed at me, my family, my friends and Shah Rukh Khan. Believe it or not, I also received a few death threats. The blog post In Defense of Shah Rukh Khan was only meant to be what the title suggested. It did not contain any insult to Salman Khan as Koimoi.com even clarified in a separate article on their website. I do not understand how Salman Khan’s fans got the idea that I was bashing their star but the resulting abuse that I received has surely poisoned me to some degree against their idol. I am sure it has done the same for many people. I specifically warned against such behavior but no one heeded my advice.
Shah Rukh Khan Fans Don’t Despise Salman Khan
When someone is a Shah Rukh Khan fan, it does not mean that they despise Salman Khan or any other actor. The whole world does not function on a Shah Rukh Vs Salman wavelength. Since then (the time of writing the post), I have watched Ready, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and some other Salman Khan films, but Shah Rukh still remains by favourite. Salman Khan is a great entertainer but I guess you like what you like. Shah Rukh is by far one of the finest actors and, as he says so modestly, “has no competition”. That is my opinion and I am entitled to it.
Salman Khan is a great entertainer but I guess you like what you like.
Insulting someone’s favourite actor using the social media, which has quite a wide audience, through racist and homophobic comments not only reflects poorly on you but it also reflects poorly on your idol. The person who reads such insults will only associate the abuse with your idol. In my case, no matter how much I try to assign blame to certain individuals, the abuse has been coupled with Salman Khan’s image. This detracts from the enjoyment I receive from watching his films. It also makes me want to avoid his movies altogether because the memory of abuse from his fans has been seared into my mind. I am not alone in this sentiment. The number of groups stating that they will boycott Salman Khan’s films has increased on Facebook and Twitter too. One such group has almost 10,000 members. Believe what you want, but many of those people will not watch his films in a theatre. This will harm his films to some degree as movie-going is a social event and it will harm Bollywood more than anything else.
The same sort of abuse directed towards one star will be hurled back at the other. The cycle will continue and more individuals will get involved. People who perhaps are Shah Rukh Khan fans but watch Salman Khan’s films and vice-versa will be forced to pick sides. Again, this will hurt Bollywood because it separates fans into various factions that only support their favourite star and watch his films only. Cinema, which involves a lot of hard work, may suffer and will not be appreciated due to the idiocy of these conflicts. This divide will be evident in 2012 when Salman and Shah Rukh’s next projects will come out. The negativity surrounding Salman Khan’s films should not come as a shock to the hate mongers because you reap what you sow.
Not expecting a reaction from the other side is just foolhardy. I am not the only one saying this.
Entertainment should be treated as entertainment rather than an epic conflict involving two or more stars.
At the end of the day, I hope I am wrong but I have a feeling my prognostication is valid. Again, I would advise all individuals engaging in such rude behavior to quit it. Parodying a body of work, a film, is one thing, but taking the hatred to the level of racism, homophobia and threats of violence is another thing altogether. Entertainment should be treated as entertainment rather than an epic conflict involving two or more stars. Let Bollywood try to improve its content, through technique or other aspects, so that it can create true world cinema. Instead of bringing people down for taking risks and thinking differently, let us try and support them for a change. Who knows, in doing so maybe Hollywood’s days as “the world’s premier entertainment manufacturer may be numbered”.
The writer is a medical student in Washington DC. His twitter id is @ashermadan.
Wanna get famous? Want to share your analysis about a star or film? Koimoi.com invites you to write about your favourite films, stars or anything Bollywood! Check out more details here.
More Guest Posts on Koimoi.com
Akshay Kumar & Hrithik Roshan: Bollywood’s 100 Cr Club Hopefuls
What Rajnikanth Means To Us – A Tamil Boy’s Perspective
From Loving Shah Rukh Khan To Liking Salman Khan
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71 Comments
I want to apply for funds from Mr. Khan’s foundation ,Being Human ,for the treatment of a cancer patient known to me . Please guide HOW TO APPLY for the same .
Thanks
i love salman khan
hello
hiiiiiiiiiiiii
For yrs srk fans posted many nasty comms re Salman what excuses r u now making for srk is he still the God one can buy popularity but not character. Srk is sprilling out of control his dirty deeds are catching up. His affir PC 3am rendv at his off fight w kunder his flaunting of laws smoking IPL match his insults about USA using them pub stunt his being ban by MCC even his daugh cld not stop him drunk and disorderly Gods dont behave like this. If sone does not help him he will commit suicide he cant take his fall the guilt and lies are eating his very soul. I wont fgive what he tried to do to Salman and bw actors but get him some help
i read some article about srk and salman,and something who’s only disturb me is you.You so pathetic.If you like salman,then you dont need to care what srk to do or what happen with him.You say something like you have know srk and salman khan,and like they know you,thats make you more looks stupid.who gonna believe that?? i like salman and i like shahrukh too,but read your comments and all the comments from salman fans to shahrukh makes me think twice to watch salman movie..
i am a biggist fan of shah rukh khan from pakistan but i am not hater of sulman khan i like him some movies but i like all movies and all about of SHAH RUKH KHAN he is great actor
u see….
salman khan is salman
nobody compares to him
he is one of the greatest actors in bollywood “ever”
he is the ultimate trend setter, showman, performer, entertainer,rockstar, sexiest man, handsome man, controversial child, bad boy, macho man, hunk, etc
he makes the rules n then he breaks them to make another rule
in popular culture, he has a big part
i m from nepal n there are more salman khan fans rather than of the other stars
he is the only star in bollywood who can do drama, romance, comedy, action, dance steps, one liners, iconic characters equally well which stays in the peoples mind and the hearts than any other actor
noone can do what he did in the last 2 decades or more
i dont dispise aamir and srk but i think salman khan is better than them
if anybody tells me dat he doesnt know how to act then i give them 5 of the greatest movies that changed hindi film industry and still he hasnt worked with great directors and still hasnt won an award:
1.comedy – aaa
2. romance- mpk
3.action – dabangg
4. family – hahk
5.tragedy – saajan
who has this kind of lineup?
he has his flops as well but.. well you gotta loose some to loose some right?
and his songs are also great in themselves
his dance moves, they are copied from left to right
whatever u may call him, he is the greatest actor for me in india
he changed it all, that screen presence, man! who can match that after for big b himself?or dilip kumar?
he is an influence to everybody
im sure we will witness “SALMANIA” in years to come.
Who da hell iz dis writter.. Saley tera baap ne tujhe ittana he bataya k only SK fans abuse what about some shameless SRK fans.. Okay if there is a group dat bycot SK den there is also a group dat bycot SRK.. U r no1 2 say even a single word nor 2 SK nor his fans..
agree to the fact that srk is a succesful actor,great actor but not as great when compared to amit ji and kamal hasan …..with respect to the fact that srk started his career from 0 position to no.1 ,Now,can somebody give me reason that in front of hollywood or french films only srk and his couple of films should determine the standard of films of Indian cinema and not any other actor’s films .There are living legends like sanjay dutt,ajay devgan and akash kumar who have repeatedly put their performances to critical acclaim but the stupid indian media doesn’t give atttention to their performances ..there was a time when srk acted in films like chak de and veer zara ….tell me why one proper movie viewer should rate ra 1 and don 2 at the same level as chak de or ddlj ? as for salman khan irrespective of his flop films in the past he equals himself to the two other khans with his recently built genre for action movies may be copied from south films anyways dabang was not a copy…any actor with a record of flops comes back with a bang can anybody be fool enough to ignore his comeback? can any other actor in his position do it?
How muck does SRK pays to buy all his awards !! He is not the king any more – he is making a fool of himself and his family (have you seen his wife’s face lately) – kissing/messing around with other peoples girls – he is a disgrace – people who thinks he is good – doesn’t want to face it he looks old and ugly – he is going through middle age crisses. – so all you alman haters – SRK time is over – he is old and over the hill – face it !!
Shah Rukh Khan is a king khan actually he is king of bollywood. and only he has th right to rule on it nd he is a true human being.one should think about her/him self before talking about him.And i am his true and huge fan.and i dont like a person who hate him.he has been made by god to get only love of his fans his family and everyone els.IN SHORT HE IS THE BEST ND NO ONE CAN TAKE HIS PLACE AS WELL AS HIS POSITION WEATHER HE IS GIVING HIT OR NOT BECOZ HE IS HIT IN HIMSELF.LOVE HIM AND RESPECT HIM ALWAYS. OD BLESS HIM AND HIS FAMILY ND MAY COMPLETE ALL HIS WISHES.
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