It’s very rare these days to see politicians being openly acceptable to criticism or advice from others. It could be more problematic for them if it comes from someone like Shah Rukh Khan, the king of Bollywood, as he enjoys a huge fan following and can impact opinions of masses.
Shah Rukh, however, has avoided to make any political comments after the fiasco in 2015, a year after Modi government took over. In 2015, in an interview to Barkha Dutt for NDTV, Shah Rukh said, “there is intolerance, there is extreme intolerance… there is, I think… there is growing intolerance.” The actor said he “respected” people returning awards to protest against intolerance. SRK’s comments led to vitriolic trolling from the right wing, and even some BJP ministers latched onto the opportunity to slam him.
Now, a new video has generated reactions on social media. A Twitter user named क्लासिक Mojito posted an old video of the interaction between Shah Rukh Khan and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The event seems to be an award function or some sort of gathering, where even then opposition leaders like Jaswant Singh, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad could be seen in the audience. Even the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is present on the stage.
Rahul Gandhi, in this video, asks Shah Rukh Khan about the one piece of advice he’d like to give to politicians.
Shah Rukh, being his witty self, says, “I am glad, such a simple question.”
“I mean, one piece of advise all the politicians will follow, and we will have a wonderful country,” he goes on to add.
In his advice, Shah Rukh says: “Just work honestly. Have pride in your nation. Let’s not take money under the table, let’s not do shady stuff. So my advise to politicians would be just be as honest as realistically possible,” says Shah Rukh, as applause breaks, with even PM Singh clapping.
Watch the full interaction here:
Social media users, reacting to the video, said being so open and candid with politicians is not possible in today’s time.
A user name Irfan Pathan wrote: “Those were the days.”
Those were the days https://t.co/3kcbv4ESjT
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan1612) May 16, 2022
Another user with ‘anonymous’ username said: “This feels like a different era altogether. Where someone could give ‘advice’ to politicians.”
This feels like a different era altogether. Where someone could give ‘advice’ to politicians. https://t.co/G9fMTXyuZi
— Anonymous (@CommentBond) May 16, 2022
Shah Shakeel, reacting to the video, said: “Even BJP guys are laughing and enjoying it. Today, they have to butter their boss for every tiny stuff otherwise they will be out of league. Currently, India is all about the narcissism and flattery of one guy.”
Even BJP guys are laughing and enjoying it.
Today, they have to butter their boss for every tiny stuff otherwise they will be out of league.
Currently, India is all about the narcissism and flattery of one guy. https://t.co/NrvCt0j6T2— Shah Shakeel (@ShakeelSpeaks) May 16, 2022
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