Mumbai:
Shah Rukh Khan's battle against the Shiv Sena may have been a fairly lonely one so far. Few Bollywood stars or directors have spoken in support of him. But on Friday, it was Salman Khan, who spoke loudly and clearly for SRK. A rift between the two Khans has been acknowledged by both men in the past.
Salman said to NDTV, "These players were coming here to hit balls... why the ruckus? Politics and support should not mix." Salman, who has also said recently that he'd like to buy an IPL team, said if found a good player, he'd buy him, irrespective of his nationality.
Shah Rukh Khan's movie, directed by Karan Johar, is scheduled for release on Friday, February 12. The Shiv Sena has sent letters to Mumbai's cinema-owners warning them not to screen the film. The Sena wants SRK to apologise for stating that Pakistani cricketers should be included in the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In London earlier this week, Khan said he would not retract.
In Mumbai, Police Commissioner, D Sivanandan, said, "After Rahul Gandhi's visit, the release of
My Name Is Khan is the next big challenge and I've assured producers that we are ready in all ways."
Except for a few comments from actors like Arjun Rampal and Farhan Akhtar, Bollywood's silence over the controversy has been deafening. In fact, Amitabh Bachchan blogged lavish praise for Bal Thackeray earlier this week. On Friday, Abhishek Bachchan tweeted "All that has been happening over the past few days is very unfortunate and sad! I believe that sports, arts & culture should be above politics. My family and I have faced many such incidents in the past. And all I wish for is peace and harmony to prevail over all citizens."
In an interview to NDTV's Barkha Dutt, Jaya Bachchan pointed out that when she faced Raj Thackeray's wrath two years ago for speaking in Hindi at a public event, nobody from Bollywood came to her rescue either.
And Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "Shah Rukh Khan has said the right thing. The Shiv Sena, Thackeray is wrong, and everyone knows that, and the whole country is against them. What the Sena is doing is against national unity."