Yes, I was there when Aamir Khan said that Salman Khan's remark (comparing his exhausted condition with that of a raped woman) was "unfortunate". And two seconds later, he added, "and insensitive". One was glad that Aamir was ballsy enough to take a stand on his colleague's "insensitive" remark, unlike the other Khan who sat on the fence. And it wasn't a surprise that only two words uttered during a lengthy meet that covered a lot of other ground, made it to prime time.
One is even surer that Aamir himself was aware that these two words would be the pick of the media. Because, if you've noticed, the three Khans have a flair for making waves with their comments. There is a pattern. How come other major stars like Akshay or Hrithik don't have the foot-in-the-mouth tendency and it's only the big three who hit the headlines, sometimes for the wrong reasons,with such regularity? The pattern is unlike that of, say, Amitabh Bachchan whose name may feature in something controversial (like the Panama papers), or Hrithik's legal battle with Kangana which may keep him on the front page for a short while. The three Ks specialise in actually making comments that rile some group or the other. For instance, Shah Rukh's 2010 tweet on being "enlightened" by someone like Zakir Naik has come back to bite him. Incidentally, six years ago too, his tweet had invited the ire of a few tweeple but today, a remark in support of terror-tinged Zakir Naik gets a completely different colour.
It makes a fascinating study to see how something that didn't provoke a strong backlash yesterday, causes a furore today. For instance, the word "rape". Until a few years ago, the expression, "If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it" could be used with impunity. Even Amitabh had used the expression but that was decades ago when it was accepted as a common expression. One is certain that the actor is far too aware of changing sensitivities to use it today.
Similarly, you'll cringe if you watched that scene in 3 Idiots today where Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan raise their laughs with the playful use of the word "balatkar" (rape) in a college speech. Nobody called that humour "insensitive" or "unfortunate" seven years ago when the film was released. So Salman Khan's remark is more about a celebrity not being sensitive to changing times. Top it with the arrogance of refusing to utter the five-letter word "sorry" and you know why this Khan is a newsmaker.
Today, "waiter" is also a word that has to be used with care, thanks to Subramanian Swamy. And Aamir proved his savviness when he corrected himself on the spot at the same meet where he'd just commented on Salman's remark. He said that when Salman entered a room, you couldn't help noticing that a celebrity had arrived while he (Aamir himself) would go unnoticed "like he was a waiter". As has been extensively reported, Aamir realised his faux pas, looked around the Taj Ballroom, apologised to the waiters present there, and retracted that unfortunate simile. It revealed two of Aamir's savvy traits. One, the acceptance that you don't become a smaller man if you apologise. And two, the realisation of what to retract and what to stick to, to hit the headlines.
Aamir's media meet was the first official promotional event for his Xmas release, Dangal . But if Dangal took a backseat to his remarks on Salman, that wasn't a problem. The actor got the required eyeballs, the media (and the public) was delighted that he had the guts to take a clear stand on Salman, and voila, Aamir was back in the limelight for the right reasons. Ultimately, it's Dangal that'll benefit from the positive focus on its hero.
Now look at this chart.
On Monday, Aamir Khan, looking fit and youthful, launched the poster of Dangal . Straightaway, the poster drew a contrast between the fat family man of Dangal with four daughters around him and the loin-cloth, bulging biceps hero of Sultan which was on release exactly two days later.
On Wednesday, Salman Khan stormed the theatres as expected.
On Thursday, Shah Rukh invited the media to Mannat for an Eid lunch and brought AbRam out for the cho-chweet moment.
In short, the cameras were trained on one of the three all week.
Therefore, never underestimate the marketing skills of the three Khans. And you don't have to forgive them for anything, for they do know what they say and do.
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and editor
