Salman Khan, give your actresses a break. Katrina Kaif, call out the sexism
Salman Khan's behaviour towards his heroines has time and again shown the misogynistic mentality of the star.
Jyoti Kanyal New DelhiMay 28, 2019UPDATED: May 28, 2019 14:26 IST
After Salman Khan's comments on Priyanka Chopra and his mansplaining Katrina Kaif, it is high time the Bharat actress speak against Bhaijaan's misogynistic behaviour.
The Bhaijaan of Bollywood, Salman Khan is also known for being the 'poster boy of masculinity' in the industry. The actor has often, knowingly or unknowingly, courted controversy for himself. From mansplaining and not letting his heroines speak to drawing absurd analogies on rape, the actor has done everything to leave women with a bad taste in the mouth.
Now, ahead of the release of Bharat, the actor is on a brand new mission of taking dig after dig at colleague Priyanka Chopra. The actress, who chose getting married to Nick Jonas over doing a film with Salman Khan, is his new target. The Ek Tha Tiger actor is leaving no stone unturned in making sly remark after sly remark on Priyanka's decision and taunting her choice. From press conferences to personal interviews, in his recent conversations with the media, there is one thing that Salman has his unwavering attention on: Priyanka Chopra's apparent crime of leaving Bharat for marriage.
During a press conference, Salman Khan said, "She [Priyanka Chopra], over Bharat, did choose USA in the 'nick' of time. She has worked so hard all her life, okay? And when she got the biggest film of her life, she dumped that film and got married. You know, hats off! Usually, people leave their husbands for a film like this."
The problem is not Salman Khan accusing Priyanka Chopra of leaving Bharat days before it was scheduled to go on floors, but the way in which he is putting his thoughts into words. His comments show that he speaks with neither a filter nor the consideration that his words may come across as misogynistic. His comments make it seem like Priyanka has committed a big mistake by marrying Nick Jonas than doing a film with 'THE' Salman Khan: "Usually, people leave their husbands for a film like this."
And it was not just once. When Katrina Kaif was telling reporters that Kumud's role in Bharat is the best role in her career so far, Salman Khan was quick to interfere and say, "Thank you, Priyanka." On another ocassion when Katrina was asked how difficult was it to prepare for the film, Salman Khan again thought of it as his responsibilty to answer on Katrina's behalf and said, "Priyanka didn't give us enough time to prepare." He also commented about how it was "sweet of her (Priyanka) to tell us five days before the shoot that she couldn't do Bharat."
Singer Sona Mohapatra, who has been vocal about her criticism of Salman Khan on a number of occasions, also reacted to Salman's attack on Priyanka Chopra and his statement that Priyanka chose Nick over Bharat. She tweeted, "Cus @priyankachopra has better things to do in life, real men to hang out with & more importantly, girls to inspire with her journey."
In another tweet, the Ambarsariya singer attacked Salman straight up and called him the "poster child of toxic masculinity. She tweeted, "A showcase & poster child of toxic masculinity. Low brow dig at not only a woman who was not in the room but a disgusting disregard & contempt for the woman & colleague sitting next to him in the same room. Unless we call out such serial bad behaviour, nothing changes, #India. (sic)"
The singer found support in many women on Twitter who asked Salman Khan to respect women.
Priyanka Chopra's case is not a one-off incident when Salman Khan put on this disgusting display of male chavinism. He has time and again proven it that he considers himself better than his heroines. In another interview, when he was asked if not acting, what other profession did he think Katrina should have pursued, the actor couldn't think of anything for a long time. And when the interviewer suggested, "May be producer [since Katrina is planning on launching her production house later this year]", the actor, after much contemplation, said, "Katrina should get married and produce children." Katrina Kaif's expression to this answer was testimony that she didn't like it, but again, she couldn't say anything because Bhai wouldn't like it.
This answer by Salman Khan was again wrong on various levels. First, it was insulting for Katrina because Salman Khan indirectly said that the actress was not capable of doing anything other than acting or dancing. Second, it was disrespectful for all working women who are married and are mothers. What Salman Khan's comment indicated was that women who have kids do not pursue their careers and spend their time parenting them. (Maybe he should have taken a look at his Bajrangi Bhaijaan co-star Kareena Kapoor Khan?)
And how can one forget the infamous rape comment for which Salman was torn apart by people from all quarters. During the promotions of Sultan in 2016, the 53-year-old actor compared his exhaustion from a physically demanding shooting sequence for the film to the exhaustion of a "raped woman". He realised his mistake and backtracked, but by then, the damage had been done.
The remark sparked a furious debate with the Maharashtra State Commission for Women summoning the actor for a hearing. The news made headlines for many days, but no one from Bollywood condemned it. It was only when Salman Khan's father Salim Khan apologised on his behalf in a series of tweets that several Bollywood actors including Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra admitted that the comment was 'insensitive'. However, they refrained from condemning Salman outright. Instead, almost everyone said it was 'not intentional'.
Today, what is surprising is that Katrina Kaif is not reacting to Salman Khan's behaviour or words. In the past, we have seen the actress taking a stand, albeit not direct, against mansplaining. During the promotions of Jagga Jasoos in 2017, when Ranbir Singh tried answering a question on her behalf, she made sure, though in a funny way, that she was not liking it and that she was perfectly capable of speaking for herself. This particular event took place after the Jagga Jasoos actors had broken up.
Now, when all is well between Salman and Katrina, does it mean she staying quiet is okay? The answer is blowin' (up) on social media.
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