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29 March 2024

Is Shah Rukh Khan new bad boy of Bollywood?

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

He’s done it again.

Just when you thought it was safe to skim through the Bollywood gossip pages, Shah Rukh Khan has gone ahead and filled the section with R-rated column inches courtesy of yet another alleged drunken brawl – this time with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

With a lifetime ban on entering Mumbai’s prestigious Wankhede Stadium looming in the horizon, Khan has this time around managed to upset cricketing officials, the state government and fans for supposedly abusing security officials who were only performing their duties.

In words of MCA treasurer Ravi Savant to Times of India, he said: “He [Khan] misbehaved and abused the MCA security personnel, as well as MCA officials, including our president Vilasrao Deshmukh, after the IPL match (between KKR and Mumbai Indians).”

MCA officials have also lodged a police complaint against the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL franchise team co-owner. 

No comment from the Khan camp has been forthcoming since the incident, but then the actor has not been one to punch and tell if his last few altercations are any indication.

In the past five years, the award-winning actor has slowly but surely managed to alienate himself from several members of the Indian film fraternity with a spate of brawls in his wake, while his own personal life has come under scrutiny with rumour mills churning that all is not blissful in the marital bond between Khan and wife Gauri.

With the original bad boy of Bollywood, Salman Khan, having tamed his wayward ways of late, it seems that King Khan is eager to fill that throne, irrespective of how many punches he needs to throw to get there.

Emirates 24|7 flashes back to some of Khan’s other public (and private) squabbles in the past few years and asks its readers to decide whether it’s signs of a mid-life crisis threatening in the sunset or all in a day’s work for the Indian actor.

Khan vs Khan

While Shah Rukh Khan was ringing in the New Year at his mansion, Mannat, on The Palm, Jumeirah last year, his one-time friend was frothing at the mouth when news reached Salman Khan’s ears that SRK had tendered a public apology on Karan Johar’s talk show, “Koffee With Karan”.

For those who can’t recall, the brawl between the two superstars erupted nearly three years ago at Katrina Kaif’s birthday bash, where the verbal sparring almost headed towards fisticuffs before Aamir Khan intervened and broke them apart.

Nearly a year later, the media savvy Shah Rukh shot up the TRPs when he spoke about his fight with Salman on his director-producer friends chat show.

As soon as Salman got wind of it, the actor refused to take this laying down. He took to the press with his own version of the state of their affairs, saying: “If he {SRK] really was sorry and wanted to apologise, he could’ve called me or dropped by at my place. Expressing regret on a chat show makes no difference to me or anyone.”

Salman was clearly in a chatty mood or simply to angry to what he said next: “… Forget about me pardoning him, should anyone hear that conversation even they’ll not pardon him.”

Scandal has never been more delicious. And before you ask, the war still continues, with Salman saying Mukesh Ambani’s party for Sachin Tendulkar last month: “Sachin ka record todna mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai. Aur yeh Don nahi main bol raha hu [No one can break Sachin’s record; and it’s not Don, but me saying this].”

Insiders say this was a clear dig at Khan considering the actor starred in the last two outings of the film “Don”, while Salman only referred to Amitabh Bachchan as the only “Don” he knew.

Khan vs Rampals

One-time best buddies, Khan and Arjun Rampal were inseparable – even spending New Year’s Eve together in Dubai – but all allegedly went sour post “Ra.One” and the rift is for all to see.

Rumours were afloat during the shooting of “Ra.One” that the two actors were indulging in a war of words on the sets, but it was only a few months later that close pals of the two started gossiping when Khan and wife Gauri decided to skip Rampal’s and wife Mehr’s 14th wedding anniversary celebrations.

Considering that the Rampals would always be one of the first few to arrive at any celebration by the Khans, this absence was being called ominous by many.

Insiders say reasons for the rift were also over an argument the Rampals had with Khan, defending Gauri when the actor’s ‘close relationship’ with co-star Priyanka Chopra came under scrutiny.

Khan wasn’t impressed with the intrusion and Mrs Rampal made it clear whose side she was on.

Khan vs Kunder

The superstar actor has been on a winning streak of bad luck with months of hardships, bad PR and stifling stories that has finally culminated in the ‘slapgate’ affair of earlier this year, which saw him allegedly assault former friend and filmmaker Shirish Kunder.

The same Kunder who is husband to one-time best friend Farah Khan.

The trio had a fall out a few years back when SRK rejected “Tees Maar Khan”, Kunder’s directorial venture, which resulted in a bitter parting.

What followed was the slapgate affair of 2012, when Khan apparently lost his cool in a nightclub and punched Kunder for dissing “Ra.One”.

It started when choreographer turned director, Farah husband, Kunder took to Twitter and said: “I just heard a 150 Cr firework fizzle,” referring to “Ra.One’s” budget, which rumoured to have cost an astronomical Rs1.5 billion.

Insiders say that it was this very tweet that caused brouhaha in the wee hours that fateful morning at Sanjay Dutt’s party.

Is there more to the story than what is being reported in the media, or is it a simple case of a stress-fuelled midlife crisis that has finally snapped Khan into picking fights with friends?

It was only after Farah’s brother Sajid Khan intervened that the trio has called a true.

Although insiders say that the bitterness still simmers.

Khan vs Bhansali

Yes, it was surprise to many when Khan and director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali indulged in a war of words when both their films were slated for a Diwali release in 2007, what with the duo having worked well together on “Devdas”.

But the war of words that saw “OSO” director Farah Khan form a tag team with Khan took a new form of ugly when Bhansali’s mother was dragged into the mess.

The end result of was that “Om Shanti Om” turned into a record breaker, while “Saawariya” sank without a trace.

Bhansali and Khan had allegedly stopped speaking with one other, until Khan finally calling a true post the release of “Guzaarish”, with a phone call to the director.

Khan vs Gauri

Yes, you read right.

While the “Ra.One” fiasco was slowly fading into the background, stories gradually started to filter out that all was not well in the Khan household with wife Gauri.

This news came as a shocker for many considering in the notorious corridors of Bollywood, where fidelity is considered just as fickle as your friendships, the Khan-Gauri marriage was above reproach.

While married actors were being linked with all and sundry, Khan’s status as a faithful husband was never brought into question. Not until people started to whisper a certain name: Priyanka Chopra.

Khan’s co-star in several films, the actress and him apparently started to get cosy during the shoot of “Don 2”.

Things heated up, allegedly, during the film’s promotions, which even saw the duo jet into Dubai with director Farhan Akhtar.  

But those whispers became talk when stories filtered out that Gauri refused to let Priyanka into her house for the film’s wrap up party.

Shortly after, Gauri’s close pal Neelam Kothari was being named as the person who was spreading such nasty rumours. But the former actress, turned jewellery designer, denied such was the case.

Finally, things came to head when news of a clandestine 3am meeting between Khan and Priyanka emerged, prior to the Zee Cine Awards in Macau, where incidentally, Gauri gave the younger actress an open snub during rehearsals for the same.

While, both Khan and Gauri have maintained a dignified silence on this matter, friends and media having been reporting on the latter’s conspicuous absence at public events of late, especially when her husband is expected to be present.

In fact, the duo has not been snapped together since March.

Could that have given rise to the anger and frustration that led to last night’s events at Wankhede Stadium?

Only time will tell.