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Beware of the public's wrath
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February 8, 2010
 By Debashine Thangevelo
Upset the Indian nation and there will be consequences. As big a star as Amitabh Bachchan is, even he had to seek the public's forgiveness when his actress wife Jaya addressed an award ceremony in Maharashtra in Hindi instead of Marathi last year.
Let's not forget that infamous smooch between Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty, which incensed the public to the extent that they burnt effigies of the actors.
Known for his charismatic personality and witty repartee, as was witnessed when he took over the reins from Big B as host of Kaun Banega Crorepati (India's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?), how did Shah Rukh Khan manage to court such disfavour?
An avid cricket fan and, as of 2008, owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, Khan dared to suggest that Pakistani cricketers be allowed to participate in an upcoming international event.
Given the fractious relationship between India and Pakistani, this comment riled the right-wing Hindu nationalists, who suggested the actor move to Pakistan if he felt so strongly about it.
And so the situation mushroomed out of control and anything connected to SRK, including his upcoming movie My Name is Khan, has become tainted.
That the film reunites the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai team of prominent director Karan Johar and Kajol, can't seem to cajole the public out of their state of fury.
Meanwhile, the King of Bollywood remains unapologetic and is standing his ground.
While in the US, he told The Independent: "It makes me feel that activities like this are unhealthy, undemocratic. It is insensitive, but this is how the world is and you can only say what you believe in and stand by it. And, hopefully, I will have the strength to do so."
Getting back to My Name is Khan, the actor was detained at Newark Airport in August when his name came up on the watch-list.
Although he shared that it has happened to him often, he denied it was a marketing gimmick or the subject matter of his film.
He told The Wall Street Journal: "My Name is Khan steers clear of being for or against racial profiling. The issue we are detailing in the film is bigger than detention. It is about how goodness and humanity can conquer anything."
My Name is Khan releases on Friday.
DID YOU KNOW?
This is the first time since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was Karan Johar's directorial debut, in 1998, that Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol share the screen again.
Kajol was Johar's first choice, although Kareena Kapoor was considered for the part.
The film faced a temporary setback in December, when actor Aamir Bashir was denied a visa for the US. He was subsequently replaced by Jimmy Shergill, who plays SRK's younger brother.
Shabana Azmi was cast to play SRK's mother, but she left the production after the actor's shoulder injury brought the shoot to a halt. She was then replaced by Zarina Wahab.
Child actor Tanay Chheda will play a young SRK, living in the Borivali section of Mumbai. Many will remember him as the teenager Jamal in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.
Christopher B Duncan was chosen to play President Barack Obama. In interpreting Obama on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, there seemed little need for an audition.
Johar asked Khan to co-produce the film with him. - Wikipedia
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