'Unlike Sallu I care for image'

By Subhash K Jha

Arbaaz and Malaika Khan's rather ugly run-in with the monstrous after-shocks of over-exuberant product-marketing seems to have left the Khan family deeply affected.

Known to be deeply conservative the Khans are extremely upset with Malaika and Arbaaz.

"They feel it was wrong that we should've let them read about our little campaign instead of taking the family into confidence.

In fact my parents clearly said, 'If we knew you two were going to be part of such a gimmick we'd have never allowed you to.' I never thought I'd ever get into something that would turn so ugly," sighs Arbaaz.

So far the Khan family has one controversial child as a favourite child of controversy.

"Salman doesn't care what is written about him. I'm not that kind of a guy. I'm very particular about the way I conduct myself specially about my marriage. Suddenly I find myself fighting a lonely battle to redeem my wife and my image."

To compound the Khans' problems the multi-national company which conceived and implemented the queer campaign has completely washed its hands off the matter….a direct echo of what happened to the Roshans when the cell-phone company which goofed up in its communication system with the copyright ownership issue of Ram Sampat's tune decided to steer clear of their celerbity clients' troubles.

"It's not just my name that's being affected, it's my wife's name too, and that I won't tolerate, " Arbaaz says angrily days after the media reacted violently to the couple's gimmicky marital-discord camapaign that hit the headlines last week.

Says Arbaaz, "My wife and I have been called publicity hounds and our little child has also been dragged into the matter when all we did was to go along with the multi-national's campaign.

Is compliance a crime? Then we're gulty. And I apologize. I'm not the kind of a guy who gets defensive after making something goes wrong. And this situation has definitely gone wrong."

What Arbaaz cannot fathom is why a section of the media chose to highlight the false story on a marriage breakup.

"Neither Malaika nor I ever said we were splitting. It was the cosmetic company which put out a yarn about me re-marrying. From there some mediapersons let their imagination run riot. Since when is our marriage a matter of front-page interest?"