No matter what, we will remain positive: SRK responds to trolls criticising ‘Besharam Rang'

Actor spoke at the opening ceremony of the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival

Pathaan, helmed by Siddhant Anand, was touted to be King Khan's biggest comeback in 2023. However, instead of receiving a loving welcome from fans, celebrated actor Shah Rukh Khan and his co-star Deepika Padukone landed in hot water for the "tacky" choreography and "skimpy" clothing in the viral song, Besharam Rang.

Adding to the flak, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra also expressed his displeasure over the romantic track, leading to a series of protests across the country. Finally, fed up with the criticism, Khan voiced his concerns for the emerging trend of negativity and trolling on social media at the inaugural ceremony of the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival, reported Times of India.

Without directly addressing the controversies related to Pathaan and Besharam Rang, Khan said, "I'm really proud of everyone standing in solidarity with me. The support proves that no matter what the world throws at us, we will always remain positive and alive."

He then pointed out how the negativity on social platforms only leads to more destruction in real life. "Social media is often driven by a certain narrowness of view that limits human nature to its baser self. I read somewhere that negativity increases social media consumption, and thereby increases its commercial value as well. Such pursuits enclose the collective narrative, making it divisive and destructive."

Moving on, the Zero actor also stated that cinema is bound to be affected by the increasing pessimism online. He said, "The collective narrative of our times is shaped by social media and contrary to the belief, the spread of social media will affect the cinema negatively."

Khan went on to defend cinema by dubbing it as a vehicle "for people of different colours, castes and religions to better understand each other." He also urged people to pay more respect to films. "Cinema is the best place to sustain a counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind," he added.

Despite receiving requests for the film to be boycotted, Khan commended KIFF for ushering in a new era of optimism in the country and congratulated the people of Kolkata. "Through endeavours like KIFF, we are able build new platforms to break existing prejudices. Let's come together and build a better world for our future generation through the medium of cinema,” he concluded.

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