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Have heart people, Salman Khan has a positive side

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Uday Mahurkar
Uday MahurkarMay 07, 2015 | 15:06

Have heart people, Salman Khan has a positive side

A debate is raging on the conviction of Salman Khan with some saying that five years in jail is too much for him and that he is paying the price of being a celebrity. The rival lobby says that the 13-year delay on the part of the judiciary in deciding the case itself is an example of the kind of power that a celebrity enjoys in this country. The debate will go on. But it is time to have a look at the other side or rather the positive side of Salman Khan. Of the three Khans - Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir - who have ruled like giants on the Indian screen for almost two decades now, it is Salman who comes out as most secular and nationalist in his outlook - a man who is an Indian first and then a Muslim, based on his actions.

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Interestingly, Salman became the darling of entire India following his comment on the controversy over the frisking of Shah Rukh Khan by US security personnel at an American airport a few years ago. Shah Rukh made a big hue and cry over it, alleging that it was a case of undue harassment of a celebrity just because he was a Muslim. Many jumped on to the bogey of "why harass all Muslims for mistakes of a few?" But when Salman was asked to react on the controversy, he was realistic: "If most terrorists exploding bombs to kill innocents are Muslims today then obviously Muslims would be under a security scanner, especially in America which saw a holocaust-like 9/11 by Muslim terrorists.''

The stereotyping of Muslims as being wronged is totally unjustified in a country which has given two Muslim cricket captains and three Muslim presidents. Did the Hindus of Pakistan get such treatment following the division of India at the behest of a section of Muslims? Late progresssive Muslim leader of Maharashtra Hamid Dalwai has repeatedly pointed out this disparity between India and Pakistan in his book, Muslim Politics in Secular India.

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As for Aamir, he can't be openly accused of adding to this stereotyping, but he too, possibly erred when he joined the anti-Narendra Modi lobby and the Muslim chorus on the Gujarat riots and the Narmada Bachao Andolan without verifying the facts, only to seek out Modi when he became the prime minister.

As against this, the "India First" credentials of Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan have never been in doubt. The religious fervour and gusto with which they celebrate the Ganpati festival is unique.

Ujjwal Nikam, who rendered exemplary service as the Maharashtra government counsel in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, made a very interesting comment in an interview few years ago, while speaking on the hollowness of the people in the film world. He said: "I wonder why common people start regarding screen heroes as real heroes. When Sanjay Dutt was an accused in the Mumbai blasts case, large groups of screen personalities came to meet me pleading his case and even made underhand offers about which I don't want to speak.'' In Ujjwal Nikam's estimation, Salman may well fall into a better category of film icons based on his known philantropy and his repeated help to struggling film colleagues, and above all, his "India First" image.

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Last updated: May 07, 2015 | 15:06
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