Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man’s world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man’s world
– Money, Money, Money by Abba
Shah Rukh Khan is an intelligent guy. His press conferences are fun. He cracks jokes, makes people laugh and can generally charm his way out of trouble. That’s the kind of guy he is.
But then again, the actor’s scuffle with Mumbai Cricket Association officials post the IPL game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians paints a very different picture; a picture of a man who believes that as an egoistic owner of an IPL team, he can get away with anything on the cricket ground.
Now, many will ask: So, which one is the real Shah Rukh? Is it the one who smiles adoringly in ads or is it the one who gets drunk and brawls in a public space?
It doesn’t matter who the real Shah Rukh is. What does matter however is whether he is punished for his misdeeds or not. AFP
I say, it doesn’t matter who the real Shah Rukh is. What does matter however is whether he is punished for his misdeeds or not. If a cricketer or a fan had got into a drunken brawl – by now, they would have been suspended or dumped in jail. So why does Shah Rukh get special treatment?
Is it because he is an owner? Or is it because he is a star and the rules that govern us mortals don’t exist for him?
The IPL has in the past allowed the owners to get away with almost anything. Remember the incident where Ravindra Jadeja was banned from the IPL for a whole season by the governing council for breaching player regulations.
Jadeja’s crime was that he tried to negotiate a larger financial contract with some of the other IPL franchises. Now, Jadeja got a ban. But all the ‘other’ IPL franchises went scot free. Why?
Preity Zinta almost charged onto the field to tell the umpires how to do their job. Action taken against her: nothing. Why?
There have been numerous other indiscretions on part of the IPL owners/franchisees, the latest being the ones revealed by the TV sting which lad to five players being suspended pending an investigation. Now, nothing was proved against these players but they were suspended. But the owners, the ones ‘allegedly’ supplying all that black money, were not even bothered let alone suspended. Why?
BCCI president N Srinivasan, who also masquerades as the owner of one of the IPL teams, simply said: “All the franchisees have people of stature behind it. It will be wrong to presume they are doing something wrong and then make enquiries.”
So in essence, it is wrong to presume that the owners did anything wrong but it is OKAY to do the same with the players because they don’t have the same ‘stature.’
The words do stink and that is precisely why Shah Rukh must be punished. He must be punished not because he is star. Not even because he is an owner but simply to show that the law/rules are the same for everyone regardless of their ‘stature.’
