Even as actor Salman Khan was convicted by a Jodhpur court on Thursday for killing two blackbucks, his lawyer was hopeful that he will be acquitted. The reason? He was earlier acquitted in an Arms Act case based on the events of the same night, and he has also been acquitted in the two cases of chinkara-poaching of the same period.
Maybe, Khan will be ultimately acquitted for the blackbuck case too. In criminal trials the burden of proving a crime usually rests on the prosecution. Despite the innuendos that do the rounds of social media every time the actor’s criminal cases are in the news, and irrespective of whether the actor committed the crime, this is a right Khan has. It is another matter that this right is enjoyed way more by the privileged like him than those who are not.
Some of Khan’s friends in Bollywood expressed their solidarity with him by saying that he is not a criminal. Maybe he is not. But it is time they and everybody else acknowledges that he is no hero either.
For example, consider his behaviour at the time he broke up with actor Aishwarya Rai. Rai’s family had to lodge a formal complaint in December 2001 with Mumbai police for his conduct. He had barged into her home and damaged furniture. The police left him with a warning.
If reports of Khan physically harassing Rai were based on speculation before this complaint, they weren’t in 2002. In September that year, she accused him of physical assault in a formal statement. The night after, Salman’s car killed one and injured four in a crash in what is now known as the actor’s hit-and-run case.
This is not the only instance of harassment or misdemeanour the actor is accused of. There are others too. He probably doesn’t hold the reigns of an entire industry like Harvey Weinstein and may not have the cunning to cover his tracks, but Khan is a harasser nonetheless and powerful enough to escape punishment for it.
“This is a male-dominated industry and I guess it has been difficult for many to digest a woman holding her own with dignity,” Rai had said in her 2002 statement. In a different world or time, her statement would have led to criminal prosecution of Khan. He would not be let off with a warning. He would definitely not be celebrated as an actor, nor pitied for running into trouble.
However, a large section of Bollywood continues to brush harassment or sexism under the carpet. Thankfully, we have come a long way from celebrating harassment on screen. Even actors – who stand to gain the most from such film’s returns – are now speaking up against it. They do so because they know it idolises a system that oppresses.
Khan, unfortunately, isn’t one of those actors who has shown any signs of gravitating away from being a patriarch. His image of being a ‘Bhai’ continues to grow. If memes on social media are anything to go by, he has also come to somewhat symbolise abuse of power and privilege off screen.
Those who worship this ‘hero’ should know that his idea of ‘heroism’ has already begun fading into the darkness of bygone times. If prison doors don’t shut on Salman Khan, the world will.
Featured image: Facebook/Salman Khan
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