Should Aamir, Shah Rukh Khan do more than just acting?

Last week, two Bollywood icons were hauled over the coals for two totally different reasons. In the best of times, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan may seem to have little in common. In their crisis hour, however, the link between the two was hard to miss. Both are Bollywood superstars, both have dared to step out of their comfort zones, and both are now being slammed for daring to foray into areas unrelated to what they do for a living.

Aamir is in trouble because he did a television show focusing on medical malpractices in the country. The Indian Medical Association has accused him of ‘defaming the medical profession’ in the May 27 episode of his TV show Satyamev Jayate and wants him to apologise unequivocally. They have threatened legal action if he does not say sorry.

Doctors representing some 21 medical institutions held a press conference to say that Aamir had presented only ‘one side of the story of the medical profession,’ and that doctors have been maligned. The doctors who are railing against him do not say that there are no medical malpractices in the country. The dispute is over whether it is rare or rampant.

Why did they not make a noise earlier? Medical malpractices in India hardly make breaking news. The issue has been reported in the Indian media for years. One doctor who appeared on national television to discuss the issue had a curious argument on that one. He said Aamir’s show had a greater impact. So Aamir’s sin would have been lesser if no one watched his programme or if the viewers fell asleep halfway.

If Aamir told one side of the story, what is preventing the doctors from telling the other? There is no answer. Nor is there any convincing explanation about why doctors’ associations are not equally zealous about bringing errant doctors to book.
Since I write regularly on health issues, I watched Aamir’s programme with great interest. Was it perfect? Of course, not.

Could the story have been told in a different way? Perhaps. But that is true of every newspaper or television report as well. From what I remember, nowhere did Khan pass a sweeping judgement on the medical profession per se. There were ‘good doctors’ on the show like renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya, which pioneered the low-cost, high-volume model of healthcare in India.

What is the issue then?
‘Aamir Khan is my favourite actor and he should stick to making films,’ one prominent doctor said on television. That seems to be the crux of the grouse — how dare a Bollywood person dabble in something else, especially something that makes some people uncomfortable?

Which brings me to the other Khan under attack. Shah Rukh Khan is facing fire from sections of the commenteriat for diluting the cerebral, cultural image of the City of Joy by his ‘over the top’ singing, dancing and celebrating in full public glare after his team, the Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League.

Shah Rukh Khan has been making more news than he wants to, I reckon. First came the brawl at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium for which he may have legitimately got flak. But as a former resident of Kolkata, I am somewhat flummoxed by the intensity of the ire against the star for his freestyle merrymaking at Eden Gardens to spread some cheer following KKR’s victory. Khan did a cart wheel, swayed to the beat of local bands Bhoomi and Chandrabindu while they trilled remixes of old Bengali folk melodies and asked Mamata Didi to shake a leg too. All in good humour. Was there a touch of politics? Yes. And yes, many in the city were inconvenienced because parts of Kolkata came to standstill that day. But it was only for a few hours and brought a touch of the carnival to a despondent state. Once again, there are those who are irked by the touch of a Bollywood actor outside his ken, this time on cricket.

The circumstances are different and the critics are different. But the unstated subtext that runs through the avalanche of criticism against the two Khans is the same. How dare Bollywood stars take time off from their world of grease paint and join in the national discourse about hot button issues — be it IPL or corruption.

Let the critics carp. The Khans have excellent precedents — from Shabani Azmi at home to Sean Connery and Jane Fonda in the international arena.

The author is a Delhi-based writer
l inbox@dnaindia.net