Reacting to the controversy that has erupted after his ‘Being A Khan’ article was published on Outlook Turning Point, Shahrukh Khan said ”I would like to tell all those who are offering me unsolicited advice that we in India are extremely safe and happy. We have an amazing democratic, free and secular way of life.”
“I implore everyone to understand that my article is against exactly this kind of giving into propaganda . Lets not be mislead by people who use religion as an anchor for unrest and a policy of divide and rule. Nowhere does my article say that I feel unsafe in my country. I don’t even understand the basis of this controversy. Ironically, the article I wrote (yes, it is written by me) was actually meant to reiterate that on some occasions my being an Indian muslim movie star is misused by bigots and narrow-minded people who have misplaced religious ideologies for very, very small gains. And ironically the same has happened through this article once again.”
“I am an Indian and am extremely proud of it. I feel extremely safe in India. My safety is not a concern to me and not for someone else either.”
“I only sell love, love that I have got from millions of Indians and non Indians and stand indebted to my audience in my country and around the world. It is sad that I have to say it to prove it, in my country”
Full statement by Shahrukh Khan
According to me, all our lives we are defined by three identities. Two of which are fortunately acquired by birth and are a matter of unconditional love and acceptance. The first identity is acquired when one is born. Our Motherland. That defines us. So foremost all of us here like me are proud Indians. Second the family name and upbringing that our parents give us. Mine is Khan, like some of us here. I am very proud of my parents, like all of us are here. I love them unconditionally. The third is the profession we choose that defines us. By some quirk of fate I am a celebrity, a public figure in the fields of art and media. Like most of us are here today. As I said being an Indian and my parents child is an unconditional accepted truth of my life and I am very proud of both.
The third, being a public figure makes me open to any kind of questioning, adjectives good and bad and or sometimes makes me an object of controversy as people use my name and statements to attach any positive or negative sentiment to it. I accept all the above because this is the life I chose and will stand by it. I am what I am, because of the love and admiration that comes with being who I am in my profession, so I thank everyone for making me the star I am.
Now to address this whole issue, with regards to my Article, that has taken an unwarranted twist . I do not even understand the basis of this controversy.
Ironically the article I wrote (yes its written by me) was actually meant to reiterate that on some occasions my being an Indian Muslim film star is misused by bigots and narrow minded people who have misplaced religious ideologies for small gains and ironically the same has happened through this article, once again.
The reason for this primarily is, I think some of the people have not even read it and are reacting to comments of people, who in turn have also not read it. So I implore you all to first read it.
Second if you read it, nowhere does the article state or imply directly or indirectly that I feel unsafe, troubled or disturbed in India.
It does not even vaguely say that I am ungrateful for the love that I have received in a career spanning 20 years. On the contrary the article only says that in spite of bigoted thoughts of some of the people that surround us.. I am untouched by skepticism because of the love I have received by my countrymen and women.
I will paraphrase the beginning and the end of the article to clarify and substantiate my stand.
“Then, there is the image I most see, the one of me in my own country: being acclaimed as a megastar, adored and glorified, my fans mobbing me with love and apparent adulation.
So I am a Khan, but no stereotyped image is factored into my idea of who I am. Instead, the living of my life has enabled me to be deeply touched by the love of millions of Indians. I have felt this love for the last 20 years regardless of the fact that my community is a minority within the population of India. I have been showered with love across national and cultural boundaries, they appreciate what I do for them as an entertainer – that’s all. My life has led me to understand and imbibe that love is a pure exchange, untempered by definition and unfettered by the narrowness of limiting ideas.
Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, “you are an Indian first and your religion is Humanity”, or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, “tu hindu banega na musalmaan banega – insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega” set to Gangnam style.
Why should not the love we share be the last word in defining us instead of the last name? It doesn’t take a superstar to be able to give love, it just takes a heart and as far as i know, there isn’t a force on this earth that can deprive anyone of theirs.
I am a Khan, and that’s what it has meant being one, despite the stereotype images that surround me. To be a Khan has been to be loved and love back.”
Please I implore everyone here to read the article and convey through your respective mediums of communications, all the good things that it expresses to youngsters and my fellow Indians. It is a heartfelt and extremely important aspect of my life, an appreciation of love that all of you have bestowed upon me and also a point of view from my being a father of two young children
I would like to tell all those who are offering me unsolicited advice that we in India are extremely safe and happy. We have an amazing democratic, free and secular way of life. In the environs that we live here in my country India, we have no safety issues regarding life or material. As a matter of fact it is irksome for me to clarify this non-existent issue. With respect I would like to say to anyone who is interpreting my views and offering advice regarding them, please read what I have written first.
Also some of the views that I have been made to read are just an extension of soft targeting celebs and creating an atmosphere of emotional outbursts and divisiveness based on religion in the minds of some. I implore everyone to understand, that my article is against exactly this kind of giving in to propaganda and aggressiveness. Lets not be misled by tools which use religion as an anchor for unrest and a policy of divide and rule.
I would also like to add here, that my profession as an actor makes me, liked beyond the borders of my nation and culture. The hugs and love that I am showered upon by Nationalities all around the world, make me safe all over the globe, and my safety has genuinely never been a matter of concern to me and so it should not be a matter of concern to anyone else either.
We are all educated and patriotic people. We do not have to prove that time and again because of divisive politics of a few.
My own family and friends, are like a mini India, where all religions, professions and a few wrongs included, all are treated with tolerance and understanding and regard for each other. I only sell love, love that I have got from millions of Indians and non Indians and stand indebted to my audience in my country and around the world. It is sad that I have to say it to prove it, in my country, which my father fought for, during the Independence struggle.
That’s my piece and having said all this. I would like to request all of you present here, that henceforth ask me questions regarding my next movie. The songs that I have recorded. The release date of my film. The heroines cast in it. The TOIFFA awards in Vancouver, because I am an actor and maybe I should just stick to stuff that all of you expect me to have a viewpoint on. The rest of it maybe I don’t have the right kind of media atmosphere to comment on. So I will refrain from it.
And please if you can put all I have said on your channels, or mediums of communication, in the exact same light as I have said it and meant it in 24 hours of unrequired controversy is more than enough for all of us I assume. So do not sensationalize and hence trivialize matters of national interest and religion any further and drag a movie actor in the middle of it all and let me get back to doing what I do best — making movies.
everybody is safe in India.hindu,muslims,sikhs,christians and everybody.this is promotion of “chennai express” which has started now.
SRK is a true gentleman and very well spoen press conference, clearing himself of all controversies. I hope nobody is hurt by his statement and i personally feels that each word he spoke was very practical and acceptable. Although i am not a hardcore srk fan, I do support him in this matter. GOD bless him
Thanks Indicine for publishing it
Proud to be a SRK FAN
SRK is real secular superstar and personanility in Indian Cinema……..We all should respect him
It is a matter of utter shame and disgrace that such an intelligent man who often shows his love for his country and his countrymen and has always been thankful for the love he gets is forced to prove his patriotism because of a Hafiz or a Malik or some stupid and hatred filled article written by a stupid and narrow minded journalist. Very sad.
From the little I know him, srk is all about patriotism and courage! Shame on those
creating fake controversy to ride
on his fame!
publicity stunt..
we understand wht shah rukh is tryng to say but as a muslim he should be very clear on religion and proudly declare as muslim and should tell his kids tht wht is their religion..Remember God would ask u about this…
@Vinay With due respect I would like to ask you have you read that article? If No, then read it before commenting and if Yes then I have a doubt that are you qualified enough to understand the context of the article which SRK wrote as it is theoretically sharp. I would also like to tell you that it is not SRK who makes this as a issue, it is the politicians and some media first who sensonalises the whole thing. So be careful next time before commenting on something. Good Luck
@indicine Why SRK has to justify his love for his country? It is sad.
A publicity gimmick being used by SRK to get srkians like @xzone and @star to go out and buy the latest editions of TIMES and Outlook magazines that feature SRK on its front page. It is a Great marketing strategy- to cause a controversy/awareness just to sell these publications. SRK is a marketing genius- money is his only motivation in life, shame on him for using religion to obtain monetary rewards.
Another Publicity Stunt for getting media attention… How often this Man come up with these stupid ideas of publicity stunts??? So disgusting !!!!
I suggest all the idiotic journalists and politicians to watch Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani!
whatever… Why is he the only one who always gets into such controversies? No hit over the last five years and need sorry publicity?
Is there a new movie of SRK coming up? The controversies usually come up, with perfect timing, during his movie releases.
SRK needs to ask himself this question: Why is it that everytime he ends up getting into controversies. Why is it that APJ Kalam or Aamir Khan never get into controversies like these.
Be it controversy while promoting ‘My name is Khan’ or defending Pakistan as a friendly country when Pakis were banned from participating in 2010 IPL.. etc etc… All these are created by SRK himself. No one forced it on him. It is that nature of SRK that is causing the problems. There will not be smoke without a fire.
Maybe his intentions were good when he wrote the article in Outlook… It is only his history of putting himself in controversies that is causing people to react like this.
Article is too long and way too boring to read like JTHJ was to watch. :-P
@one more: Unlike the rest of the muslims you’ve mentioned, SRK always brings up the topic of religion the one way or other. That’s why we often see him in these kind of controversies. He should stay away from these issues and stick to what he is good at, otherwise he only makes himself a target.
@navin lol so true!!
One thing, I do not know, why he states that as Muslim he is targeted by some vested politicians in India but for that matter as Brahmin we are also targeted by politicians in UP & Bihar.
This kind of statement only creates hatred and should be avoided in Public.
Journalist having ideology like that of Navin didn’t read the article fully and added their own material to it and it led to a controversy.
@HAWKEYE wow with a name like that you clearly could read the article in one glance without much difficulty but for someone like me, I just find the whole thing ever so Yawn Yawn Yawn Yawn boring….
PS interpretations are what makes controversy and if you say something that can be easily misconstrued then arent you subconsciously writing that in the hope it can be misconstued and turned into an controversy??? My srkian friend, in other words, SRK has a well functioned and highly paid PR machine behind him so isnt it plausible that they read and proof read what SRK was writing before publishing it?
I reserve the right to be sceptical and I do believe this was all planned, to cause a big enough controversy just to sell more magazine copies to the blinded srk fan club members like xzone and star.
Aamir never gets into a controversy coz uski itni aukaad hi nahi hai ki he can write such a theoretically sharp n to the point article. He is only best at mugging up those scripts 4 SMJ unlike SRK who is an intellectual n intelligent man with a great presence of mind which the indian media cannot understand.. We love u SRK 4 ur broad minded n un diplomatic thinking n we support u 4 all the right things..
@simran Oh please do not come on here trying to compare the intellectual levels of Aamir with SRK. You love SRK, great, Im happy for you but please refrain yourself from bringing down the intelligence levels of Aamir to SRKs level. Theres a big difference there ok, compare SRK to another celebrity who is an equal to SRK like a Rakhi Sawant but leave Aamir out of this debate please.
@NAVIN
AAMIR IS NOTHIING IN FRONT OF SRK IN TERMS OF GLOBAL FAN FOLLOWING,ACTING,MARKETING,CONNECTING WITH HIS FANS,DELIVERING SPEECHES AT YALE UNIVERSITY & HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
@danish You Sir are an idiot….
SRK actor that should have unemployed decades ago and must have given role of spot boys, steals style of college students and educated class roaming in the malls…. Distributes his profit in black karma’s spreading restfulness in society such as hiring Body Guards and throwing educated people’s garbage back into there Windows in Mumbai…. If no one believes then ask Bombay people..