When Aryan Khan – after his bail was rejected four times – finally was granted bail… his battery of lawyers hurrahed in joy. As for dad Shahrukh Khan, he just gratefully looked above and his eyes welled with tears – he was not India’s most loved superstar at that point, he was just a grateful father thanking God for small mercies. Mom Gauri Khan stationed in their home Mannat broke down and wept when she heard the news – her 23-year-old son was finally coming home. India’s best-known superstar Shah Rukh Khan who was the apple of the industry’s eye and who had never faced any huge controversy such as this, was less the filmstar at that point and more a helpless dad hurting for his son.
Silence Of The Industry
However, throughout this ordeal, what was strange was that though SRK’s fans supported him all the way, the film industry which claims to be the bonhomie hub of pacca dosts remained mum. Strange… that in an industry that claims bhai chara and familial ties, not too many people especially the big wigs came out in the open to support Shah Rukh Khan, especially in those times of dire need. Agreed, director and choreographer Farah Khan ‘tweet’ed her support, Salman Khan rushed to the Badshah’s house, Juhi Chawla, a close friend, paid Aryan’s bail bond of Rs one lakh, but where were the others especially the other bigger players? The normally very vocal Aamir Khan, Prakash Jha, the Kapoors, Akshay Kumar, the Bachchans and so many others just clammed up
Most industrywallahs strangely enough remained completely mum on the subject of Aryan Khan – not ready to take any sides or to even speak up – perhaps it was sub-judicial so they preferred to do to stay out of legal wrangles or perhaps they preferred to wait ‘n’ watch as is the policy of many. There were many who perhaps thought supporting Shah Rukh Khan would bring them in the spotlight and have the NCB sniffing around in their own backyard and so why invite the NCB’s wrath? Well, whatever it was, nobody agreed to speak for or against the subject. The deafening silence within Tinsel Town was louder than a million words. The high-decibel protests, vociferous screaming, or even simple support was completely missing.
“Why Are They Not Speaking?”
…Perhaps that’s what got director Sanjay Gupta’s goat, who may have never worked with SRK but felt so strongly about the non-support that he had tweeted then, “Shahrukh Khan has and continues to give jobs and livelihoods to thousands in the film industry. He has always stood up for every cause for the film industry. And the astute silence of the same film industry in his moment of crisis is nothing short of shameful”
Singer Mika Singh averred too, “You are absolutely right brother, they all are watching the drama and cannot say even a single word.”
“Why Target SRK?”
Adman Prahlad Kakar known to never mince words had said in an interview, “The film industry never speaks out. Why should they change? They are very selfish people. They only protect themselves; they don’t know if it is a central government agenda to go after Shah Rukh, because of his association with the Congress. Everyone wants to follow the government today, even the press. Even sections of media don’t write anything against the government.”
Adding, “Bollywood will stand up and start speaking when its people get picked off one by one. Those in power know that if they pick people one by one, then nobody is going to come together. They are not taking Bollywood on all at once. They will pick depending on who is for or against them. It’s as simple as that.” He sums up by saying, “They will not pick on Kangana, they will pick on Shah Rukh and Hrithik.”
The industry has always been vocal about being a big fat filmi family, a potpourri of varied cultures melted into one huge family… Bollywood! However, it has been seen over and over again that when it comes to the crux, many big players prefer to maintain a non-committal silence about major issues. So it really is a pity that the high octane ‘ek doosre se karte pyaar hum…’ that the industry normally chants was conspicuously missing during SRK’s personal crisis.
Agreed, many of SRK’s friends stayed by his side but there were many key actors, directors and producers known for their fearless and articulate stance, who remained mum. Of course, the show must go on… but not when it borders on being mere spectators during a crisis. All they needed to do was to extend a hand of support but was that too much?
