Why Salman Khan should be forgiven for mistaking Dipa Karmakar for Deepika
When Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was chosen as the goodwill ambassador for the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics 2016, many debates had erupted.
People expressed their displeasure over the appointment citing the numerous controversies and court cases the Sultan star was involved in. There were some who said Salman had nothing do with sports, and so on.
Many others supported the appointment citing Bhai's mass appeal, and how it would help spread awareness about our lesser-known athletes and sports.
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| As Salman Khan keeps up the gaffes, Dipa Karmakar makes history at #Rio2016. |
Yes, it indeed makes sense to have a superstar with a mass outreach being chosen as the Olympics ambassador. The ambassador would make us, common folk, gain more information and clear misconceptions about the athletes representing our country in an event as prestigious as the Olympics.
One would think this was the logic behind Salman's appointment.
But, like his super-hit masala films, where Salman Khan is concerned, logic takes a backseat.
In a sad case of mistaken identity, Salman Khan forgot the name of India's star gymnast Dipa Karmakar and referred to her as Deepika. Salman made the blunder at the trailer launch of his brother Sohail Khan's film Freaky Ali starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, on Sunday, August 7.
Deepika? Dipti? Except there is no Dipti!@BeingSalmanKhan gets gymnast #DipaKarmakar's name wrong #ITVideohttps://t.co/k0v07kqLqQ
— India Today (@IndiaToday) August 8, 2016
Incidentally, on the same evening, Dipa created history by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympics. She finished eighth in the qualifying round and will compete in the finals scheduled for August 14.
However, Salman wasn't the only confused person at the event. A journalist nearby corrected Bhai by saying the name is Dipti. Salman too nodded and said, "Yes, Dipti". The sad part is that there is no Deepika or Dipti in the Indian contingent but Dipa Karmakar who is making India proud.
To Sallu Bhai, as well as the confused "journalist", the name is Dipa Karmakar, remember it!
Unsurprisingly, many people on Twitter had strong words for Bhai:
@indiatoday @beingsalmankhan We do we make such idiots ambassadors!
— sanyam taparia (@sanyamtaparia) August 8, 2016
@indiatimes @BeingSalmanKhan WHAT A SHAME TO MAKE THIS "CLOWN" AS GOODWL AMB!!! DONT WE HAVE "ANY" QUALITY IN SELECTION??? PATHETIC POLITNS!
— K. Sridhar (@sridhar160954) August 8, 2016
@indiatimes @BeingSalmanKhan WHAT A SHAME TO MAKE THIS "CLOWN" AS GOODWL AMB!!! DONT WE HAVE "ANY" QUALITY IN SELECTION??? PATHETIC POLITNS!
— K. Sridhar (@sridhar160954) August 8, 2016
Salman forgets gymnast Dipa Karmakar's name. it's Dipa the Olympian,not Deepika the actress;stupid! pic.twitter.com/WJiOEFL3Id
— ABCRaman (@iamramanna) August 8, 2016