Shah Rukh: Bottle of woes

Bhopal, Oct. 29: Madhya Pradesh, with a reputation for hounding celebrities, is “courting” Shah Rukh Khan with a vengeance.

Vinod Kumar Tripathi, a resident of the state’s Shahdol district, has filed a case against the actor in a local court, accusing him of promoting “alcoholism” by appearing in a liquor ad. The suit has come two days after an NGO served Shah Rukh a legal notice for smoking in public.

Tripathi told chief judicial magistrate Deepesh Tiwari about the “offensive hoarding” of a whisky brand featuring Shah Rukh with the catchline “Success needs a master stroke”.

Tripathi said Shah Rukh “needs to be curbed because, as an actor, he is bound to influence many”.

After reading the catchline, people were buying the brand and becoming “alcoholic”, Tripathi said. A case has also been filed against the maker of Masterstroke Delux Whisky.

Ads featuring alcohol or tobacco-based products, and their consumption in public places, are banned but J.P. Dhanopia, a Bhopal lawyer, said manufacturers and publicity firms have been violating or circumventing the law. “The ads are worded in such a manner that they make no mention of alcohol,” he added.

Dhanopia, however, said the legal salvo at Shah Rukh was motivated by the desire for publicity. “It seems to be aimed at deriving mileage and publicity. These days, people can do anything to be famous for five minutes.”

Friday’s legal notice from the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication was issued to Shah Rukh for smoking at two recent public events, — a Twenty20 game in Mumbai and the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi. The actor has 15 days to reply or face a lawsuit.

Last Tuesday, an Indore court had issued a warrant against actor Aamir Khan for disrespecting the Indian flag.

Ravi Shastri, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, Dharmendra, M.F. Husain, Mamta Kulkarni, Jackie Shroff and filmmaker J.P. Dutta are among the public figures who have had to show up at one, or more, of Indore’s musty courts.

Shastri got a taste of the town’s penchant for filing cases after resident Manoj Malpani heard him confess on TV that he relishes biltong, a dish made from dried beef. Priyanka had a brush with the law there over a dispute with secretary Prakash Jaju. Aishwarya and Hrithik Roshan were sued for their “obscene” liplock in Dhoom 2.

Dharmendra was put in the dock for allegedly concealing information about “a change of name and religion” while marrying Hema Malini. The case was filed in 2004, when the actor was contesting Lok Sabha elections as the BJP’s candidate from Bikaner in Rajasthan. Kulkarni was summoned in a case over “exposing too much skin” on the cover of a film glossy.

A warrant was issued against Husain for drawing nude pictures of Hindu goddesses. Director Dutta, like Aamir, was sued for “disrespecting” the Tricolour in LOC Kargil.

On Friday, as Shah Rukh faced the smoking heat, the Supreme Court frowned on the tendency of lower courts to issue non-bailable warrants against celebrities. “This is not the way to show the power of the judiciary,” it said.