Salman Khan Sends Lawyer's Response, But No Apology, For Rape Remark

Mumbai: Actor Salman Khan has not apologised for remarking that he felt "like a raped woman", a comment that ignited public outrage and prompted the National Commission for Women to ask for a public apology.

Lalitha Kumaramangalam, who heads the women's rights body, told NDTV that she has received a response from Mr Khan's lawyer. She said she could not share details of the note, but "from the first prelude of the letter, he hasn't apologised".

"I have been told by people who know him that he does not apologise," Ms Kumaramangalam told NDTV, adding that after she reviews the legal response from the actor, she will examine what action is possible by the agency she heads.

Mr Khan, 50, ignored a request to appear before the Women's Commission in Mumbai today, which has now summoned him on July 7. Salman Khan was in Madrid last week attending the IIFA Awards and is now back in Mumbai.

Earlier this month, while speaking with reporters about his new release, Sultan, Mr Khan said that his training for the role of a wrestler in the film was so gruelling that he felt "like a raped woman". His supporters point out that a few minutes later, he told journalists that he shouldn't have made the comment. Sultan releases next week.

However, he has after that refused to address the controversy. His father, Salim Khan, a noted script-writer, tweeted an apology on the actor's behalf.

His brother, Arbaaz Khan, a producer, stressed that Mr Khan's "intent was not wrong", that a comparison on "works like a donkey" would not have elicited similar anger, and that the analogy, while a poor choice, should not be misconstrued as insensitivity towards women

Mr Khan spent a week in jail in Rajasthan on charges of shooting an endangered gazelle; another case accusing him of running over a homeless man sleeping on a Mumbai pavement in 2002 is being heard by the Supreme Court after a Mumbai court acquitted the actor.