Heckle and dance: Salman's bizarre response to a Preity Zinta question

Bollywood stars are too cool. Too cool for mere mortals who jostle to interview him, asking their pathetic little questions that they are forced to periodically answer because jerk somewhere paid them lots and lots of money. Except when interrogated by fellow industry deities – i.e. Karan Johar – our stars exude an air of barely concealed impatience when they interact with the media. Every once in a while, however, they decide not to bother and just wear that contempt where it belongs – right there on their sleeve. Salman Khan had one such moment this past weekend, when a reporter asked him about Preity Zinta’s FIR filed against her ex-boyfriend, Ness Wadia. (See the video here) [caption id=“attachment_1572805” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Salman Khan in a file photo. AFP[/caption] “Aap galat jagah mein hain,” he said – loudly, emphatically, over and over and over again – each time she tried to ask for his reaction. Yes, the question had little to do with the launch of the trailer of his upcoming flick Kick. But all press interactions come with their share of off-topic questions, as even world leaders know. If Bill Clinton could fend questions about Monica Lewinsky in the midst of an international summit with Boris Yeltsin in Moscow, surely Sallu Bhai can muster the necessary grace to offer a ‘no comment’ or even a standard celebrity ‘non-answer’ about his friend’s FIR. Like say Shahrukh Khan who told reporters, “It’s a personal issue. It’s an issue she has brought up and I assume it will be dealt legally. As a friend of hers, I will just talk to her.” But such responses are far too un-cool for Mr Khan who opted instead for aristocratic diktat. Having failed to dent the journalist’s persistence, he then demanded that someone take away her mike – with a sycophantic audience cheering him on. The same audience that would no doubt eagerly lap up every word on the Zinta-Ness ugliness, including their hero’s quotes. Their enthusiasm egged Salman on to aim for greater depths – in this case, a bizarre dance routine which was meant to display a blithe disdain, but instead made one wonder what they’d been serving at the pre-launch party. What made it all the more sillier was his moral posturing as the keeping-it-real hero putting a gutter journalist in her place. The last time he pulled this hate-the-trashy-media stunt, Salman was defending his decision to shake a leg for Mulayam Singh in Saifai. Sure, she’s no Bob Woodward but she was actually doing her job. Our notoriously unavailable movie stars rarely answer any questions unless they need the press for a movie or some other career-related cause. Jumping on the chance to ask Salman about his friend Preity was just good reporting. Beat reporters don’t get copy by acting coy. And movie stars don’t get paid until they do their share of publicity. If you want the press to cover your movie trailer, then you better be ready to answer some off-script questions. To pretend otherwise, is not just stupid, but also dishonest. And in the process of dismissing the journalist, Salman’s little nautanki act also trivialised his friend Preity Zinta’s allegations – which surely wasn’t his intention. At a time when even the biggest politicians have learnt to show a little humility, surely a movie star currently accused of culpable homicide can display the same. Or maybe he won’t as long as he has an audience eager and ready to cheer on his every ugly word.