Salman Khan acknowledges rape remark backlash: 'The shorter I keep it, the better'

After his ‘rape’ remark fuelled a national controversy, Salman Khan has maintained radio silence. Even as supporters and critics tried to make sure their voices were loudest, Salman himself did not comment on the issue — nor did he apologise for his comment about how the exhausting schedule for Sultan made him feel like a ‘raped woman’. However, the actor did seem to acknowledge some of the backlash he has received, at a recent event. [caption id=“attachment_2853310” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  ‘Knowing me, the shorter I keep it, the better,’ said Salman Khan, wryly acknowledging the backlash to his rape remark. Image from IBNlive[/caption] Salman was on stage at the Iifa awards event in Madrid (he has a Best Actor nomination for his film Bajrangi Bhaijaan) when fans in the audience asked him to make a speech. “Long or short?” Salman jestingly asked, to which the audience replied with cheers of “long”. Salman then said, “Knowing me, the shorter I keep it, the better”. Salman has previously indicated that he knew his rape analogy wasn’t in good taste. While addressing the media at a publicity event for Sultan, the actor had immediately admitted, “I shouldn’t have (said that)…” after making the rape comment. He had then clarified that he meant he was so physically fatigued by the wrestling routines in Sultan that he was unable to walk. The National Commission for Women had issued a summons to Salman, asking the actor to appear before them on 29 June. The NCW had also asked the actor to apologise for his remark within a week’s time. While Salman’s father Salim Khan had tweeted, asking for forgiveness for his son, on the grounds that his remark wasn’t ill-intentioned, he later told Firstpost in an exclusive interview that the issue had been blown out of his proportion because of Salman’s celebrity status. On Thursday, singer Sona Mohapatra, who was trolled by Salman’s fans for calling him out on his rape comment, wrote an impassioned post on Facebook, explaining why she believed that the rape culture mindset needs to be tackled head on. _Read Firstpost's coverage of Salman's rape row here._ — with inputs from AFP