It must be difficult being Shah Rukh Khan. Amid the geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh, the King of Bollywood has been facing much flak from right-wing groups for his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders signing Bangladesh cricketer Musafizur Rahman. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally asked the team to drop Musafizur for geopolitical reasons, much to the delight of the right-wing, time is ripe to explore the potential reasons why the actor has been a frequent 'target' for them. One particular incident goes all the way back to 2015 and coincides Shah Rukh's 50th birthday. At the time, the actor said that there was much intolerance in the nation and that he respected others, including writers, filmmakers, and scientists, relinquishing their government awards in protest against it.
The actor indirectly questioned the tendency of the right-wing to make an issue out of people's food consumption habits, particularly in relation to beef use and the lynching incidents related to it. "It is stupid to be intolerant and this is our biggest issue, not just an issue… Religious intolerance and not being secular in this country is the worst kind of crime that you can do as a patriot," Shah Rukh said at the time. Back then, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government was in power.
Political commentators have often said that the right-wing hates Shah Rukh Khan because of his past ideologies that do not align with the BJP. In other words, according to them, the hatred stems from him being a Muslim in a Hindu-nationalist political climate.
Recently, the actor's son Aryan Khan spent jailtime on charges related to drug possession and consumption. The charges were subsequently dropped for a lack of evidence against Aryan, making the commentators claim that the case against him was fuelled by a right-wing agenda to target the iconic actor.
Speaking of which, Shah Rukh's films such as Jawan and Pathaan endured boycott calls over their political messages. For political experts, the latest outrage against Shah Rukh is also part of an agenda against the actor by the right wing—something which continues despite the BJP's attempt to make peace with the actor, such as with his voiceover to a promotional video for the new Parliament building.
