Shah Rukh Khan on Tuesday maintained he has not said anything that merits an apology. But he regrets that the box office collections of his film Dilwale were adversely affected due to protests by those who ‘misinterpreted’ and ‘misconstrued’ his comments on intolerance in the country.
“I have not said anything that I should apologise [for]. I will fall in my own eyes if I do that,” Shah Rukh said at a media meet to promoteDilwale. Agonised over protests against the film, Shah Rukh said it made him sad when his work did not reach people as that was the only way he could return their love for him and appealed to his fans to watch the movie.
According to Shah Rukh, his comments were misrepresented. “At some point of time, I do regret people could not understand what I said. It was not represented properly. If anybody feels bad about it, I regret it completely,” he said. “Don’t get misled by people who, perhaps, misconstrued what I am saying … I regret that this has happened. I feel extremely sad.”
“I apologise if somebody got disturbed. Please go out and enjoy the film because it’s not me … there are thousands who have made it with a lot of love,” he went on to say. “It’s too hard for me to understand why something that we make for your happiness would somehow turn into something that becomes controversial or tainted.”
Angered by Shah Rukh’s statement on religious intolerance, Bajrang Dal activists opposed the film’s screening in the Araria and Patna districts of Bihar. Protests also took place in Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Jabalpur and many places in Rajasthan.
The 50-year-old actor was accompanied by his Dilwale co-star Kajol at the occasion. He acknowledged how the controversy has hit box-office collections of the movie in some parts of the country. “I can’t deny the fact that I’ve been reading messages on social media and even on ground that there has been activity all over the country where the film has been stopped and not allowed [to be screened],” he stated.
“Box office collections have been hit. I don’t know in what places exactly but they have been,” he said. “I have been an actor for 25 years in this country. I received love from every corner of the country in spite of religion, region, caste, creed or gender. And the only way I can return the love is through my work,” said a distraught Shah Rukh. “So, it saddens me when any of my work can’t reach the people because I work two or three times a year. It is saddening.”
Shah Rukh has also found offensive a few images circulating on social media. He said he has even been linked with people he doesn’t have any affiliation with. “I see news that says I am related to X person, who is entirely against my country but that’s not true. I have no logistic way to explain all this at my stage and age. I am a representative of my own country and am thankful to everybody but I can’t keep explaining that,” he shared.
