Will Bollywood superstar Salman Khan apologise for his inappropriate “raped woman” remark?
That was the big question on everyone’s mind as the Sultan star got up on stage to promote the 17th edition of International Indian Film Academy Awards on Thursday evening in Madrid.
Forget an apology, the 50-year-old star who recently compared his harrowing schedule in Sultan to feeling like a raped woman looked positively unrepentant and chose to joke instead.
On June 21, the National Commission For Women demanded a public apology from the star within seven days and the remark has been strongly condemned in India.
“It’s been a long evening. I will make it [my speech] really quick and short … Knowing me, the shorter I keep it, the better it is,” said Khan, alluding to his inappropriate remark. While his fans cheered and clapped when he said those words, there was uncomfortable shifting of seats among those who were aware of his cheekiness.
He then proceeded to describe his Spanish connect and how a teacher who was a native of Spain had influenced his mind during his school days.
“Today, whoever I am and whatever I am, my position is because of a Spanish man. He was like a father figure to me. We loved him and God, bless his soul,” said Khan.
While there’s a good chance that his favourite teacher from school would have told him off for his recent behaviour in a country grappling with the rising sexual violence against woman, the matinee idol then made attempts to gloss over the issue in his trademark swagger.
Khan had arrived late for the IIFA press conference, but insisted that the trailer of Mirzya that he had missed due to his tardiness was played again — just for his benefit.
While his colleagues including Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar pointed that they had watched it already, he asked them to get down from the stage and watch it again. Everyone relented. The episode was a classic example of Salman Khan’s sway in the industry.
Jokes such as what “Bhai [as he is popularly known] wants, Bhai gets” and “when Bhai speaks, everyone listens”, were also heard that evening.
Khan is known to enjoy immense clout among his fans and is known to invoke fear and respect among his peers too.
Barring a handful of actors and directors including Kangana Ranaut and Anurag Kashyap, majority of Bollywood actors have maintained a stony silence regarding his rape analogy controversy.
While an apology from Khan may prove elusive, Khan’s father had apologised on his grown son’s remark and directors such as Subhash Ghai had maintained that the actor’s intention wasn’t meant to hurt anyone.
It remains to be seen if Khan, who was sporting a Being Human T-shirt on Thursday, would change his mind during the IIFA weekend where he is due to perform on stage.
