The film fraternity and fandom standing in support of Salman Khan is no surprise given the level of idolisation in our country. But presenting him as a victim while not appreciating the judgment, which proves that everyone is equal in the eyes of law, is shocking, says Divya Kaushik
He is the “large-hearted” man who “saved” someone’s “mother’s life.” He has helped nobodies become somebodies through his charity foundation. He is the “nicest human being” who “doesn’t deserve” a five-year jail term for killing a rather ordinary man and drunken driving. Accidentally he had fled the crime scene and was not “being human” enough to rush the victim to hospital. Bollywood has been pouring all its affection and love for Salman Khan ever since he was found guilty in the 2002 hit-and-run case and sentenced by the Mumbai’s sessions court, making him the hero who has been somehow managing to bear the burden of his own wrongdoings.
This display of love through sympathy tweets for the Bhai, who is much revered in the industry for his humanitarian work in the last few years, was much anticipated but addressing him as a victim “who has paid the price of being a superstar” is not expected from the fraternity that very often has voiced its opinions, in different cases, on ‘equal justice for all.’ “If Khan’s car lost control & rammed into a Bollywood star. What if he had killed “one of their ownIJ” (sic),” read one of the tweets quite aptly.
However, no one has commented against the judgment or the judge fearing contempt proceedings. But it is sad to note that there is hardly anyone from the industry who has come out and applauded the judgment that in the days to come will be quoted as an example of the fact that no one is above law and justice delayed is not justice denied.
The love and support from the industry is justified given the social work that the actor is believed to have done over the years, either through his NGO Being Human or in his individual capacity. There is no dearth of heart-touching stories when the actor took pity on street dwellers and promised them aid in cash and kind. But is it that you kill once and spend some 13 years in doing all the good work, hoping that on the judgment day you would be discounted for having a golden heartIJ Sadly that’s not the case and the judiciary has made that very clear with good number of instances in the past. When the Munnabhai act did nothing to save Sanjay Dutt from punishment in the Mumbai bomb blast case of 1993, then it is foolish to think that being a messiah to the poor and needy would come to Salman’s rescue.
The biggest learning from the Salman Khan case has been that being a superstar would not make any difference to the judiciary. And that the situation can only worsen if you try tweaking facts and witnesses, some of whom kept changing versions. The major twist was of his driver, Ashok Singh, telling the court that it was he who was driving that night during the trial stage and not during investigations. Ashok may face charges of perjury for making a false statement in the court.
Had Salman rehabilitated the victims of his own accord rather than fleeing the scene of crime, his conscious positing of himself as a crusader for humanity would not have been called into question. later in the day, the interim bail had taken away the bite of the verdict. Given his resources to procure bail, producers and trade analysts were never anxious about the judgment despite Rs200 crore riding on him. Industry expert Amod Mehra said that there was no panic in the film industry or in anybody’s mind because everyone was clear that there was always the option of bail or medical furloughs. Not that Salman didn’t see it coming. He completed most of his projects and didn’t sign up for new ones.
Given the love and support of the industry and the huge fan following of the star, brand Salman will surely not suffer whatsoever. If any, his human travails, magnified by the media via daily updates, will only raise his brand value to messianic proportions. Imagine the collection of Bajrangi Bhaijaan in such a scenario — everybody would turn up because of their commitment to the big “Bhai” who has always fought for the law onscreen.
As Suhel Seth wrote on a website, “Salman’s brand value will not diminish to my mind only because the average Indian is fickle. We will forget and forgive. We will also be sympathetic. There will be a very few who will actually bereave the family of the man who lost his life or be willing to help those four who were severely injured in the 2002 case where the actor’s SUV ran over homeless people sleeping on a pavement. That is who we are.” True, we even don’t know the name of the victim.
With senior lawyer Harish Salve now arguing for Salman in the Bombay High Court, what turn will the case take in near future is tough to say. But it is time that we hail the judgment that conveys a strong message to the country that being a superstar does not count, being human counts. As for Salman, we wish he realised it earlier, “To save 1 innocent life is to save entire humanity, to kill 1 innocent life is like killing entire humanity (sic).” The actor tweeted this on December 19, 2014.
Controversy’s favourite child
Salman Khan has time and again landed himself in a soup. Here is a recap of incidents
Blackbuck poaching
This might be the only instance where Khan was not involved alone. His co-stars from Hum Saath Saath Hain, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam were accused of poaching two blackbucks in 1998 at the Kankani village near Jodhpur. It was during the shoot of the multi-starrer film.
lost love
A few years later in 2002 he was in the news again, this time it was for indecent behaviour towards Aishwarya Rai. It was during the shoot of Rai’s Kuch Naa Kaho when a drunken Salman hit the sets and had a massive fight with the actress. It was when he pushed Rai when the film crew got involved. He left but not before banging the actress’ car on his way out. He was interrogated a week later.
Blame game
There was once a phase in the actor’s life when a few controversies that he got involved in, traced back to Aishwarya Rai. After raiding her film sets, he allegedly threatened her former lover Vivek Oberoi. In a press conference, Oberoi said that Salman, who was upset with his relationship with the actress, had abused him and also threatened to kill him.
Karan-Arjun fallout
They might have immortalised the concept of brotherhood in Karan Arjun but apparently Salman had a fall-out with Shah Rukh Khan in 2008. Although the reasons for the fight were ambiguous, the two fought at Salman’s former girlfriend Katrina’s birthday party. What happened next was a cold war between the two Khans, until they resolved their differences last year.
Wrong opinion
He brought this on himself. After the 26/11 Mumbai blast, he said that the attacks were hyped because ‘elite people’ were targeted. What’s more, he made this statement in an interview to a Pakistani channel.
Temper issues
He is undoubtedly infamous for his short temper. But one case that stood out was when he hit a fan, who he thought was ‘intruding’ into his privacy. The fact that this happened during the shoot of his movie Jai Ho was more ironic because in the movie he plays the role of a kind-hearted man.