Salman Khan lands himself again in controversy after making a comment about woman’s bodies. On a recent episode of Aap Ki Adalat, host Rajat Sharma questioned actor Salman Khan about his “double standards” and whether it was appropriate for him to regulate women’s clothing while routinely stripping off in his films.
“There is no double standard in it. I feel that woman’s bodies are much more precious, so as much as it is covered, I feel it’s better,” was the problematic reply of actor Salman Khan.
Asked to elaborate, Salman Khan placed the blame on the male gaze. “Ye ladkiyo ka chakkar nahi hai, ye ladko ka chakkar hai. Jis hisab se ladke ladkiyo ko dekhte hai, aapki behne, aapki biwiya, aapki mothers, wo mujhe acha nahi lagta. (It’s about the boys, not the girls. The way they look at girls, at your sister, wife or mother, I do not like it). So, I do not want them to go through this,” Salman said, using an argument that the custodians of patriarchal norms have employed to punish women for their choice of outfits.
There has been some backlash on Twitter. Unsurprisingly, many believe Salman Khan has said and done nothing wrong. Still, others, including satire handle The Desh Bhakt, have pointed out that the actor’s words smacked hypocrisy while acknowledging his alleged history of violence against women.
Is #SalmanKhan only against ‘low necklines’ or also against lifting skirts of women???
It seems that not only politicians…actors too are taking classes in hypocrisy🤦🏻
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PS – not even getting into what he allegedly did to the ‘precious’ bodies of his ex-girlfriends pic.twitter.com/LZ78Pz2RNU— The DeshBhakt 🇮🇳 (@TheDeshBhakt) May 1, 2023
Salman Khan’s dress code for women – he hasn’t denied that he imposes one – was revealed in passing by actress Palak Tiwari who appears in the star’s new release Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, she said, When I was AD-ing (assistant directing) with Salman sir on Antim, not many people know this, Salman sir had a rule: Koi bhi ladki mere set pe ho (any girl on my set), neckline should be here (pointing towards the collarbone.) All the girls should be covered, like good proper girls. My mom saw me wearing full tee, joggers, full covered and going to set and she was like ‘how you are dressed so well?’ I told her ‘Salman sir ke set pe rule hai (Salman sir has this rule on set) and she was like ‘wow! Very good.'”
“He is a traditionalist. Of course, he’s like, ‘Jo pehenna hai pehno (wear whatever you want),’ but he’s also like my girls should always be protected. If there are men around who he doesn’t personally know, it’s not his personal space where he doesn’t trust everyone, he’s like, the girl should be safe, always,” Palak added.
As backlash followed, Palak Tiwari attempted to backpedal. “It’s really been misunderstood,” she told ETimes about her comments, adding, “All I wanted to say is that I have put certain guidelines for myself as to how to dress around people who are way senior to me, who have I pretty much grown up idolizing. Salman sir is, of course, one of them.”
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Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan co-stars Pooja Hegde and Shehnaaz Gill also attempted damage control. “It’s also because he speaks his mind. A lot of people think it but they don’t say it whereas he says what’s on his mind. It is very clear and that can sometimes make people be like ‘Oh my God!’ It takes you aback because you are not used to people speaking their minds,” Pooja told Zoom Digital. Shehnaaz told News18, “Nothing like that, I wore a very sexy dress during the promotion. Salman sir keeps motivating me and saying that you will grow in your career.”
