Salman likens himself to ‘raped woman’, dad apologises for him

NEW DELHI: Comparing himself to a “raped woman” after a gruelling film shoot has landed Salman Khan in hot water with the remark causing outrage on social media

NEW DELHI: Comparing himself to a “raped woman” after a gruelling film shoot has landed Salman Khan in hot water with the remark causing outrage on social media and the National Commission for Women (NCW) writing to the actor, demanding an apology.

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As the Bollywood star remained silent in the face of the backlash, his father Salim Khan said his statement was “undoubtedly” wrong but his intentions weren’t. “Nevertheless, I apologise on behalf of his family, his fans & his friends. Forgiveness is to pardon the unpardonable or it is no virtue at all ,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

Khan’s manager, though, claimed he’d been misquoted.

Khan made the remark during an interview with entertainment website spotboye.com that was published on Monday. Asked about his experience of playing a wrestler in his next release, Sultan, he was quoted as saying, “I’d have to lift the same 120-kilo guy 10 times for 10 different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times on the ground. This act is not repeated that many times in 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.”

He quickly added, “I don’t think I should have...” — suggesting he should not have made the comparison.

Calling his statement “reprehensible”, NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam said, “The commission has taken suo moto cognisance. We have sent him a letter asking for an explanation in seven days. We have said that he should give a public apology... Considering the number of female fans he has, he shouldn’t have made such a statement.”

Khan’s statement prompted the mother of the 2012 Delhi gang rape victim to ask, “What does he know of rape?”

Shaina NC of the BJP tweeted: “Rape is an exercise of power to destruct a woman’s self esteem. (From what) I (know) of @ Being Salman Khan, he respects #women so he must apologise.”

But women’s activist Kavita Krishnan said an apology would be meaningless. “After such an upsurge of remarks, people tend to say ‘Oh! I am very sorry because I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’. I think that kind of apology is fairly meaningless.”

Film-maker Anurag Kashyap said it was “thought less” and “daft” of the 50- year-old actor to make such a comment, but asked ,“Why are we making it out his individual responsibility? It is unfortunate he made an analogy like that… I am sure he will be regretting it and will apologise .”

Kashyap also criticised the interviewer, saying he should have questioned Khan’s statement but had instead laughed at it.

As news channels played out an audio clip of the interview, several mediapersons also defended Khan, saying the quote had been taken out of context.

In the same interview, Khan reportedly compared women to vices, saying he had been able to quit cigarettes, coffee and alcohol but not female company.

(With agency inputs)