Salman Khan defends Varun Dhawan and Sohail over looks trolling: 'That is wrong'

Dubai: Salman Khan's Weekend Ka Vaar monologue has started pulling reactions from the people he named in it, with Varun Dhawan, his father David Dhawan and Neha Dhupia all responding publicly within a day.

The Bigg Boss 20 host had used the episode to draw a line between genuine concern about a celebrity's health and open mockery of their appearance, bringing his brother Sohail Khan and Varun into the argument as examples.

"Showing concern that bhai, you look unwell, you have lost weight, is different. But mocking Sohail and Varun over their looks? That is wrong," he said.

Both men have faced sustained commentary about their appearance in recent months, Varun in particular.

Varun shared a video of his father David Dhawan watching the moment play out, posting it with a clap emoji while the episode was still airing.

The timing lines up with the segment in which Salman removed his shirt on stage.

Neither Varun nor David has issued a longer statement, and the clip is doing the work on its own.

The shirt moment is the part Gulf News has already run, but the language around it explains why the Dhawans responded the way they did.

Salman pulled off his hat and T-shirt and turned to face the criticism directly.

"Bhai mota hogaya hai, bhai ko troll karo... Karlo troll, yeh lo. Karlo troll. Aao, troll karna hai na? Troll karna pasand hai? Yeh dekho, close-up karlo," he said. In English: "Salman has put on weight, go ahead and troll him. Go on, troll away, here you go. Troll him. Come on, you want to troll, right? You enjoy trolling? Look at this, get a close-up."

He then turned the question back on the people commenting.

"Kamaal hai! Pehle, apne aap ko dekho bhai. Yeh jo aap log comment karte ho na, jiske upar, kisi ke bhi upar, pehle apni shakal dekhlo. Apna jism dekhlo usme baad karna yeh. Apne maa-baap ko dekhlo pehle, unki sehat dekhlo," he continued. Translated, that reads: "It's unbelievable. First, take a look at yourself. Before you people comment about anyone at all, look at your own face and your own body first. Look at your parents' health first."

From there the host moved to photographers, and specifically to shots taken of actresses from behind.

"And then the one shot they take from behind, which none of the heroines like? There must be a few who say it's okay, I don't mind it. But what about those who don't like it?"

He named three examples.

"I recently saw Saiee Manjrekar was so awkward with that. Neha Dhupia fought against it. My own niece, she was walking, and they kept clicking from behind. And what did the caption say? Guess who it is. Who are they to do this?"

Salman also said that the overwhelming majority of the women he knows have never wanted those photographs taken, including those who are now mothers, and that he wanted to know who the photographers behind them were.

His advice to actresses was not subtle.

"I am saying this to all the girls who don't like this. Jahan aisa hua, ghoom ke chamaat maaro. Bolna na apni maa behenon ka yeh shot lete ja, aur humko dikha," he said, which translates as: "Wherever this happens, turn around and slap them. Tell them to take this shot of their own mother or sister and show it to you." He called the practice disgusting and said it happens at every function.

Dhupia, who Salman cited by name, responded on social media on Sunday afternoon with four words and an emoji.

"Tiger zinda hai," she wrote, using the title of Salman's 2017 film.

She has previously pushed back at photographers over the same kind of shot, which is what Salman was referring to. Saiee Manjrekar has not commented.

The season began on 6 September with 16 contestants: Mary Kom, Aamrapali Dubey, Uditi Singh, Arishfa Khan, Aman Gandhi, Qazi Ahmad Tauqeer, Harsh Machare (Yung DSA), Kushal Tanwar (Gullu), Love Gill, Rohed Khan, Isha Rikhi, Mahhi Vij, Aasif Khan, Rhiti Tiwari, Kanika Mann and Tanmay Singh (Scout).

Salman is hosting for the seventeenth time. He has spent much of the early run of this season addressing commentary about himself, and this weekend was the first time he redirected it outwards at the people photographing the industry rather than the people watching it.