Itโs 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, โthere is intolerance, there is extreme intoleranceโฆ there is, I thinkโฆ there is growing intolerance.โ The actor said he โrespectedโ people returning awards to protest against intolerance. SRKโs 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 เคเฅเคฒเคพเคธเคฟเค 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 heโd like to give to politicians.
Shah Rukh, being his witty self, says, โI am glad, such a simple question.โ
โI mean, one piece of advise all the politicians will follow, and we will have a wonderful country,โ he goes on to add.
In his advice, Shah Rukh says: โJust work honestly. Have pride in your nation. Letโs not take money under the table, letโs not do shady stuff. So my advise to politicians would be just be as honest as realistically possible,โ 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 todayโs time.
A user name Irfan Pathan wrote: โThose were the days.โ
Those were the days https://t.co/3kcbv4ESjT
โ Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan1612) May 16, 2022
Another user with โanonymousโ username said: โThis feels like a different era altogether. Where someone could give โadviceโ to politicians.โ
This feels like a different era altogether. Where someone could give โadviceโ to politicians. https://t.co/G9fMTXyuZi
โ Anonymous (@CommentBond) May 16, 2022
Shah Shakeel, reacting to the video, said: โEven 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.โ
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/NrvCt0j6T2โ Shah Shakeel (@ShakeelSpeaks) May 16, 2022
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.