‘Pehle Apne Aap Ko Dekho’: Salman’s Kadak Warning To Trolls

Salman Khan lost his cool on Bigg Boss 20 while taking a strong stand against trolls, influencers and paparazzi who shame and abuse people based on their age, body and physical appearance.

IMAGE: Salman Khan in the latest episode of Bigg Boss 20 Weekend Ka Vaar.

 

Salman Khan has lost his cool several times on Bigg Boss.

While the actor is known to largely remain composed and maintain his role as an unbiased host, there have been moments when contestants, their behaviour or situations inside the house have pushed him to the edge.

Bigg Boss Season 10 remains one of the most controversial seasons of Bigg Boss, and Salman Khan’s patience finally ran out when Priyanka Jagga repeatedly argued with him and used foul language.

It was the first time a host asked a contestant to leave the show, and she did.

In the same season, Salman lost his cool when Swami Om threw urine at co-contestants Bani J and Rohan Mehra during a task. He was asked to leave.

During Bigg Boss 17, biker and content creator Anurag Dobhal, aka UK07 Rider, accused the show of being biased and claimed Salman Khan did not give him enough opportunity to speak.

Salman was visibly upset by the repeated complaints and told Anurag that he had consciously decided not to lose his temper with contestants that season.

In the latest episode of Bigg Boss 20 Weekend Ka Vaar, Salman gave the contestants a major scare when he pretended to suffer a heart attack.

The prank left the housemates visibly panicked as they rushed to check on him. But the moment turned into a lesson when Salman schooled Kazi Tauqeer about joking about health issues.

Salman made it clear that health-related matters are not something to be taken lightly or used casually as a prank, especially when they can cause genuine fear and panic among others.

Though Salman is known to be largely reasonable when it comes to being an unbiased host, things took an unusual turn on Saturday when his monologue about trolls and paparazzi became heated.

‘None of these heroines, none of the girls like it’

It started with Salman casually expressing how he feels trolls violate their freedom of expression by expecting him to react and respond to everything that is happening around him.

Salman pointed out the growing culture of paparazzi zooming into an actor’s hip and back and posting vulgar, inappropriate and unconsented pictures and videos with the caption: ‘Can you recognise this actor?’

He called out the cheap mentality and attitude of people who click, post and endorse these pictures.

‘Paparazzi hip shots lete hain, taangon ke shots lete hain, aur agar peeche se shot mil jaaye toh woh bhi lete hain. None of these heroines, none of the girls like it,’ he said, while sharing examples of actors like Neha Dhupia, Saie Manjrekar and his niece Alizeh Agnihotri who have been at the receiving end.

Bhai also brought up the topic of invasion of privacy, body shaming and age-shaming. Without taking names, he mentioned how actors, especially female actors, are targeted for gaining weight after pregnancy.

‘Why troll someone who is pregnant? Pregnant hone ke baad everyone puts on weight. Jab woh picture mein wapas aayegi toh woh fit aayegi… now she wants to spend time with her family,’ Salman defended on the show.

Was Salman referring to the intense trolling around Katrina Kaif‘s recent public appearance?

Then he took his own example of how he is often the soft target for trolls and memes.

He expressed how everyone on the Internet is asking: Why is Salman Khan fat, out of shape?

Is Salman undergoing hair transplant? Why is he hiding his head?

‘What do you want to troll? And why do you want to troll? What is the mentality? It has happened with me too — ‘Bhai mota ho gaya hai (Brother has become fat). Kar lo na troll, ye lo.‘

‘You can’t be Maine Pyar Kiya all the time’

Salman surprised everyone by taking off his hat, shirt and mic to show off his bare bod further challenging the Internet to troll him. He summoned his makeup artiste Raju and wiped off his makeup to reveal his real self.

‘I am 60 years old now. You cannot be Maine Pyar Kiya all the time… mujhe pata hai kaun troll karta hai…hum react nahi karte,‘ he said on the show.

‘Making fun of someone’s age, weight, and appearance only shows your upbringing.’ He added, ‘Pehle apne aap ko dekho, apne jism ko dekho uske baad karna yeh sab…apne maa baap ko dekho…uske baad troll karna,’ he added while adding he’s not okay with it. ‘Mazak udhana Sohail ke upar, Varun (Dhawan) ke upar it’s not done.”

Salman’s decision to face his truth and take a bold stand against trolls and body shaming received a standing ovation from the contestants.

While talking to ScoutOP who represents the gaming community, the actor made it very clear that he is not against social media, influencers or any particular community. He praised influencers who stand up against trolls and speak up against people who shame and troll people for their looks, age and failures.

‘Talk about my work, my movies, my performance..’ he added while going on to recollect an old incident about the dangerous impact of cyber bullying.

He said there was a person who used to write inappropriate things about him. When he traced the person’s address with the help of the cyber cell, he found out that the person’s parents were well-educated. He told the person that, if he wished, they could make information about his identity and family public. But the person apologised, and he let it go.

Salman pointed out how trolls target actors, influencers and politicians as well. However, he made it clear that if someone did not approve of another person’s work, they should stick to criticising their work and not get personal.

‘If you don’t like a politician, criticise his work. There is no need to use foul/abusive language,’ he appealed sternly, perhaps referring to trolls who attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

‘Salman is an hypocritical idiot’

In the follow up episode aired on Sunday, Salman Khan apologised that he had gone a bit too far by faking a heart attack to make Kazi Tauqueer realise his mistake.

Several celebrities applauded Salman’s bold conversation.

Varun Dhawan shared a clip featuring his father David Dhawan watching the episode with a clap emoji.

Director Rohit Shetty joined in: ‘Only unconditional prem for him. Dear trollers, it’s done bro.’

Neha Dhupia also reacted on X: ‘Tiger zinda hai.‘

Meanwhile ex-Bigg Boss contestant Sofia Hayat criticised the actor’s stand, posting on X: ‘SALMAN is an hypocritical idiot. When I was in Bigg Boss, he criticised my body and face..and told Gauahar (Khan) her body was good. Argh.’