Bollywood’s enfant terrible, Salman Khan is making headlines once again! Reportedly, during the press conference of his forthcoming film Sultan, the actor, while describing the gruelling shoot for the film where he plays the role of a wrestler, compared the experience to that of a “raped woman.” Talking about his exhaustive role in the film, Salman during an interview allegedly said, “While shooting, during those six hours, there’d be so much of lifting and thrusting on the ground involved. That was tough for me because if I was lifting, I’d have to lift the same 120-kilo guy, 10 times for five different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times on the ground. This act is not repeated that often in the real fights in the ring. When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn’t walk straight. I would eat and then, head right back to training. That couldn’t stop.”
The comment didn’t go down well with social media fans and social activists alike, who are criticising the actor for an inappropriate choice of an analogy. The National Commission for Women (NCW) has in fact demanded an apology within seven days, failing which, the organisation said, he would be summoned for an explanation.
Calling the actor’s mindset ‘misogynistic’, Dr Ranjana Kumari, director of Centre for Social Research remarks, “It is an insensitive and callous remark. In his previous films too, he has been seen making jokes about a woman’s body. This is not a matter of such light and frivolous comments, and it also speaks volumes about his mindset, which seems very misogynistic and sexist. This is violating the law of the land, and according to current sexual assault laws, such statements are against the law and he should apologise.”
Filmmaker and poet, Leena Manimekalai calls his behavior at the press conference ‘irresponsible’. “Only someone who endorses rape culture can make a comparison like this. Someone like him who has a huge fan-following should be, in fact, more responsible and mindful of his words,” she says.
Women’s rights activist and secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) Kavita Krishnan feels the debate should revolve around the systematic, ideological misogyny prevalent in the society, and not one particular actor. She elaborates, “Of course, his statement trivialises rape, but the debate should not be of Salman Khan alone,” she says.
Kavita elaborates, “The fact is that he has made this kind of statement, precisely because it is common to make such jokes around culture and rape analogies, are extremely common in India and all over the world. Our colleagues do it, our classmates do it… we need to resolve to stand up whether it happens in films like 3 Idiots, or in colleges or workplace or if a standup comedian cracks such jokes or whether a celebrity like Salman Khan does it. Haven’t many of us smirked when our colleagues or batchmates mentioned about being ‘raped’ in an interview or a cricket team being ‘raped’ in a game. Why have we never stood up against such comments? There was never this kind of backlash, for instance, when a balatkar (rape) joke was cracked in 3 Idiots. It should not be against just one Salman Khan doing it because it is easy to say that he is always putting his foot in mouth and the debate would just revolve around him! One should look at a broader perspective instead.”
