Shah Rukh Khan reacts to ‘Pathaan’ controversy says social media can be “divisive and destructive” – Times of India

All the action was happening in Kolkata this evening as Bollywood stars turned out in big number for the inaugural ceremony of the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival. One of the highlights of the evening was Shah Rukh Khan’s appearance and his speech at the event. Without directly addressing the on-going ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Besharam Rang’ controversies, SRK did make some bold statements, albeit without making it clear if he was addressing Pathaan controversies or not.

According to reports, while addressing a star-studded gathering at the KIFF, SRK criticized social media’s tendency for negative reactions to Bollywood and said the trolling was, “making it divisive and destructive.”

Not making it all too clear if he was referring to coping with the controversies surrounding his next release Pathaan and the political opposition to Deepika Padukone’s avatar in the new song Besharam Rang, SRK said, “Hamare jaise positive log zinda hai (We are positive and alive).”

Those in attendance at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata instantly took SRK’s words as a veiled response to the criticism of his upcoming movie with Deepika. Protests have been staged in various parts of the country, alleging a community has been offended by the film’s song Besharam Rang.

Revealing more about the power of films and the respect they should be afforded, SRK added, “Cinema is the best place to sustain a counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind.” While SRK doesn’t usually engage in political opinions, when he does, he always makes a straight and impactful point.

Revealing further about the impact cinema can have in general, SRK also said cinema was a vehicle “for people of different colours, castes and religions to better understand each other”.