Mumbai:
He is controversy's child. Yet, as his new film "Dabangg" sets the cash registers ringing, has Salman Khan bitten off more than he can chew this time?
After a weekend of flak over his comments on a Pakistani TV channel about the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and trying to explain that his words were "twisted" out of context, Salman has apologised on Twitter. Salman's latest tweet says:
"Looks like I mite hv to get off twitter. Don't want to but wat to do? I think I messed up, so sorry guys, $sorry bolne mein koi sharam nahi."
A few hours before that apology, Salman said:
"Hurt v hurt, yeh kya ? straight thru my heart. My mum n dad yaar my bro's my sisters. family had to go thru torture on eid n ganesh utsav." And he said yesterday:
"Next time mein apnne sub interview sub khud bhi record karoonga , kya bolte ho ? Takeh yeh sub controversies nahi ho.
"Every human life has equal value n any act of terror, anywhere in the world is unpardonable. be it 9/11 or 26/11." IANS adds: In an interview to Pakistani channel Express TV, Salman had said: "Too much hype has been created around the 26/11 attacks because elite people were targetted. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much."
(Read: Too much hype around 26/11, says Salman)He also said: "Everybody knows that the Pakistani government was not behind it and it was a terrorist attack. Our security had failed. We have had lot of attacks earlier, and all of them were not from Pakistan. They were from within."
Later, speaking to an Indian TV channel, Salman said: "The interview has been twisted. I saw it myself, the way it is coming across on TV, it is sounding insensitive. I was just saying life is equal for both rich and poor, some attacks get more media coverage and some don't. Why is that? Every human life is important."
(I'll record all my interviews: Salman)"Any attack or terrorist attack in the world is unpardonable. A terrorist has no nationality, no religion and no guts. I have complete faith in our intelligence agencies. I've always had faith in our police and armed forces. I did not want to hurt anybody's sentiments and if I have hurt anybody's sentiments then I am really, really sorry," he said on the Indian channel.
His family immediately sprang to the 44-year-old's defence with father Salim Khan coming out in his defence, insisting that Salman is not "articulate and political" and one should "understand the intent behind his remarks".
(Salman is not articulate but should apologise: Dad Salim Khan)Actor-producer Arbaaz Khan defended his brother saying: "Whatever Salman said was just his opinion and he had no intention of hurting anybody's sentiments."
But others were less forgiving.
POLITICAL PARTIES SLAM SALMANReacting to the actor's statement, Public Prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam said: "If Salman is making such a statement without knowing the details of the case, it is foolish. Terrorists do not strike after differentiating rich from the poor nor do they differentiate a village from a city. The attack has wide ramifications as it killed many people and because the conspiracy was allegedly hatched in Pakistan."
(Read: Salman invites flak for 'unwarranted' 26/11 comments)Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan too slammed the comments, saying: "The conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. There is no room for his or anyone else's opinion when the court's verdict is out".
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Anant Gadgil dismissed Salman's comments as baseless. "This statement is not right. It is not about taking note of the attack because rich people were killed. It is about loss of lives," he said.
Abu Azmi, state president of Samajwadi Party, urged Salman to help the victims of terror attacks instead of making irrelevant statements. "The attack first happened at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), where common men and women were killed and injured. What sense does such a statement make?," asked Azmi.
Azmi also said that a woman named Sabira was badly in need of funds for herself and her son. Sabira had lost both her legs in the attack and was still waiting for financial aid. "Salman should extend support to her instead of making such statements," Azmi added.
BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain condemned Salman's remarks and demanded the Bollywood actor apologise for his "unwarranted comments".
"We strongly condemn Salman Khan's unwarranted and irresponsible comments and that too to a Pakistani channel. How can he say only the elite were targeted? Is he not aware of the common people killed at the railway station and also the security forces? Moreover he has no right to give the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and the Pakistani government a clean chit... He should immediately apologise," Hussain told IANS.
SALMAN OFTEN IN TROUBLEThis is not the first time the actor, described as the "enfant terrible" of Bollywood, has run into trouble. His first brush with controversy was when his car ran into a bakery in Mumbai on Sep 28, 2002, killing one person sleeping on the pavement outside the shop and injuring three others. However, he escaped the charges of culpable homicide for rash and negligent driving.
He had to spend time in a Jodhpur jail in 2007 for hunting the endangered chinkara deer near Jodhpur on Sep 28, 1998 while filming Sooraj Barjatya's blockbuster "Hum Saath Saath Hain".
He was also reported to have slapped a television journalist for asking nosy questions about his relationship with Aishwarya Rai when the two were supposed to be a couple.