In a democratic country, the constitution of which promises freedom of speech, what has Shah Rukh Khan done wrong in speaking about how he felt about certain things at certain point of time in his life? Why is everybody hell-bent on accusing him of trying to establish victimhood? Why can’t his views be personal?   

Once those arclights are off, why can’t Khan be like any other Muslim in India? Are we denying Khan the scope of being discriminated or discrimination in the country itself? The truth being that both of these are undeniable.

First things first. No denying he is the King Khan. But behind this onscreen larger-than-life persona, he is an ordinary human being, a reticent middle-aged man, a doting father of two, owner of an IPL team who exults in its win and gets surly when it loses, at times even making his anger public. Just like you and me — his fans. Why can’t he be someone who is liable to have an opinion? And why should he be debarred from expressing it?  

Even if not linking it with any religion, and not talking about the general discrimination people face in India, let’s take the case of Bollywood only. Is Khan the first actor to have cried foul?

The thespian Dilip Kumar saheb had to face so much so many times, thanks to late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, that he went into a shell since he was literally tired of proving his patriotism time and again. When the tragedy king was in his prime, one day a police team from Calcutta landed in his Bandra flat simply because his name was found among others in the diary of a Pakistan spy they had arrested. Rumour mills worked overtime to prove the actor as actually a Pakistan spy himself! Then again when Thackeray raised a war cry against the actor going to Pakistan to receive its highest civilian award Nihsan-e-Pakistan, a subdued Dilip saheb had to beat a hasty retreat, pleading with the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, “As you please, sir”. (Read more)

A few years ago, actor Emraan Hashmi had accused a housing society in posh Bandra of "religious discrimination" saying that it denied him the no-objection certificate to purchase a flat in the building. (Read more)

What SRK has said is nothing new. Almost everyone in this country has a story of being discriminated against to share. It is high time we came out of the utopia of being perfect and stopped bashing those who dare to express themselves.