Sanyukta Iyer & Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 23, 2016)

While Bollywood has turned a deaf ear to Salman Khan's latest foot-in-mouth situation, his father, Salim Khan, hit back with 'Why should he apologise or clarify?' after issuing a Twitter apology on his star son's behalf, and Subhash Ghai called the fracas another instance of things being 'lost in translation', Kangana Ranaut chose to take a stand.

When the actress was asked for a comment on Bhai's "raped woman" remark at the launch of Shirish Kunder's new web series, Kriti, in Bandra on Wednesday, the Queen actress didn't mince words despite fair warnings from her team to steer clear of the controversy. "We all agree that it is a horrible thing to say. It's extremely insensitive but I'd also like to say that we shouldn't encourage the tendency to point fingers at each other and feel superior by pulling each other down," she stated emphatically.

"As a society, we have to take responsibility and stand united. This is disgraceful for a society, not an individual," Kangana continued, adding, "We collectively feel sorry for that thought process."

While the Twitterati trained their guns on Salman's co-stars, Anushka Sharma and Sonam Kapoor, who lead the Bollywood pack of feminists, no one has come out to condemn the 50-year-old actor's comment that incited controversy when, during a presser, he told reporters that he felt like a 'raped woman' every time he walked out of a ring while training for his upcoming wrestling drama. He had later added, "I don't think I should have (said that)", going on to explain that he found it hard to walk.

Criticising Salman for the incident, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday urged directors to boycott him till he tendered an unconditional apology. "I have not seen a celebrity more shameless than Salman Khan. He's displayed a destructive nature from the beginning. He shoots endangered animals, kills footpath dwellers and now this. People still consider him a hero," Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told the media.

Meanwhile, Bhai has showed no inclination to apologise, choosing instead to hop on a flight to Madrid where he is set to perform at an awards ceremony.
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A clutch of Bollywood women minced no words as they criticised Salman Khan’s now infamous statement
MID-DAY (June 23, 2016)

Kangana Ranaut is known to take a stand and speak her mind. The actress has done it again by flaying Salman Khan for his recent remarks in which he compared himself to a raped woman at a media interaction for his upcoming film, Sultan. The star reportedly said that every time he shot for a tough scene, he felt “like a
raped woman”.

Kangana, who was the chief guest at the launch of Shirish Kunder’s short film, Kriti, at a suburban preview theatre yesterday, did not pull her punches when asked about Salman’s statement. “We all agree that it’s a horrible thing to say; something that is extremely insensitive,” she said. The actress further stated, “ But let’s not encourage that mentality where we want to point fingers at each other and want to feel greater by running people down by trolling them. As a society, we have to take responsibility and stand united. It’s a disgrace for the whole society and not an individual. So, like what Salim (Khan) uncle says is right; that we are all sorry about it. It’s not about an individual. We all collectively feel sorry for that thought process.”

Apart from Kangana, Sallu’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) co-star actress Renuka Shahane tweeted: “There is no consent in rape. There is consent in acting & actors are also paid for it. A rape victim has to pay forever! Be human please! (sic).”

Taking on the star was also Sonali Bendre Behl, who ironically was also involved in the infamous blackbuck case with Salman during the shoot of their 1999 film, Hum Saath Saath Hain. Sonali tweeted: “Retraction or no retraction saying it itself is not cool! Stop treating rape lightly! # respect women (sic).” Lisa Ray also tweeted about the controversy: “Just got wind of Salman’s inappropriate and insensitive remark in my current time zone”.