Amid controversy brewing around Pathaan's first song, Besharam Rang, Shah Rukh Khan attended the Kolkata International Film Festival 2022 (KIFF) last evening and spoke about negativity that exists on social media. The superstar after inaugurating the festival addressed an excited crowd. In the presence of dignitaries like West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, and Rani Mukerji, Shah Rukh indirectly said he is not bothered by the negativity on social media, especially pertaining to Pathaan.
In a video shared by a fan club, Shah Rukh can be heard saying, "The collective narratives of our times are shaped by social media. Contrary to the belief that the spread of social media will affect cinema negatively, I believe cinema has an even more important role to play now. Social media is often driven by a certain narrowness of view that limits human nature to its baser self. And it's somewhere that negativity increases social media consumption and thereby increases its commercial value as well. Such pursuits enclose the collective narrative making it divisive and destructive."
EXCLUSIVE:
Listen to The Baadshah’s speech at #KIFF #KIFF2022 here!#ShahRukhKhan #SRK #Pathaan #BesharamRang pic.twitter.com/eNtDEbZHNx— Shah Rukh Khan Universe Fan Club (@SRKUniverse) December 15, 2022
He further added, "Cinema exposes the vulnerability of human nature by telling stories in their simplest form as they are lived. It allows us to know each other better. In a way, it is best placed to sustain a collective counter narrative that speaks to the larger nature of human kind--a narrative that brings to the fore humanity’s immense capacity for compassion, unity, and brotherhood."
The superstar shared, "The world has become normal. We are all happy, I am the happiest. And I have no objection in stating that duniya kuch bhi kar le, main aur aap log aur jitney bhi positive log hain sab ke sab, zinda hain." As he said 'Zinda Hai' in Pathaan's style, the audience cheered for him loudly.
Main aur aap log aur jitne bhi positive log hai sab ke sab ZINDA hai #ShahRukhKhan #SRK #Pathaan #KIFF #Kiff2022 #BesharamRang pic.twitter.com/il1INGHYwZ
— Shah Rukh Khan Universe Fan Club (@SRKUniverse) December 15, 2022
After the song Besharam Rang, picturised on Shah Rukh and Deepika Padukone, premiered on Monday, Madhya Pradesh's Home Minister Narottam Mishra threatened to ban Pathaan in the state if the outfits and objectionable scenes are not modified in the film. In one shot, Deepika can be seen dressed in a saffron-coloured outfit and this led to an outrage. Not just this, effigies of the actors were burnt in Indore as a part of the protest.
(Source: Twitter)
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