Family first: Salim, Arbaaz to the rescue

Salman Khan defended by kin over insensitive rape comment

Superstar Salman Khan found himself in hot water, once again, after comparing himself to a raped woman while talking about the training schedule for his upcoming film, Sultan.

After his remarks sparked controversy, Salman’s father and veteran screenwriter Salim Khan came forward to apologise for his son’s statement. On the same note, Salman’s brother and actor Arbaaz Khan shared he is hopeful Salman will give a clarification on his statement due to his massive fan following.

While he is being lambasted by many over his insensitive remark, his immediate family is quite concerned.

“I hope he will give a clarification as a controversy has been created. People look up to him and he has a lot of following. So if he has made a statement that does not look appropriate or does not sound good to the ears, I think in time he will give a statement,” IANS quoted Arbaaz as saying.

Arbaaz’s comments came soon after the Indian National Commission for Women took notice and wrote to Salman, demanding a public apology within seven days.



“There is no doubt that in what Salman said, the intention was not bad. Sometimes you say something out of context but your intention is not bad. But if you become oversensitive over it then you can create a controversy out of anything,” Arbaaz said at the logo launch of his film Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai.

“I am sure that Salman must have realised that the comparison he made was not appropriate and for that, if he feels that he needs to apologise, he will apologise. I don’t think I am entitled to say that he has to apologise or not.”

Salim, on the other hand, took to Twitter to throw weight behind his son. “Undoubtedly, what Salman said is wrong, the simile, example and the context. The intention was not wrong. Nevertheless, I apologise on behalf of everyone. Forgiveness is to pardon the unpardonable or it is no virtue at all,” tweeted Salim.



“It is the most difficult thing,” the 50-year-old actor had said in Mumbai when asked about his training schedule. “When I used to walk out of that ring, it used to be like a raped woman walking out,” Reuters quoted Salman as having said. “I don’t think you ... It was most difficult ... I couldn’t take steps. I would eat and then, head right back to weight training. That couldn’t stop.”

The remark, which initially went unnoticed, sparked outrage on social media with the hash tag #InsensitiveSalman trending for hours.

However, several journalists who were present at the interaction session, said Salman has been misquoted. “Salman Khan is misquoted for his statement. I was present in that interview and he never meant it in wrong sense. Listen to the audio before trolling him,” said a popular radio jockey Alok. “Why doesn’t the media put out the entire quote rather than picking up on ‘rape’. I remember even Aamir Khan’s quote was chopped and put out to create controversy. People should listen to the recording of the interview,” said journalist Bharati Dubey of Absolute India.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2016.

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