The attack on Saif Ali Khan raises the question whether stars are soft targets and what needs to be done to ensure their security

Details about the attack on popular actor Saif Ali Khan are still unfolding. The good news also is that the actor, who underwent surgery after six stabbings, is out of danger and recovering well. While the identity of the attacker is not known as yet, the incident once again raises concerns about stars’ safety. It has prompted a host of actors like Ravi Kishen, Pooja Bhatt and Raveena Tandon to demand stronger security measures.

Naysayers are likely to argue that in a country where the common man is a sitting duck on an everyday basis, why do we raise hue and cry only when an incident involves a celebrity? On the other side of the divide stand people from the entertainment industry. They believe and not without reason that celebs are invariably soft targets, inviting all kinds of breaches on their security and privacy.

Danger on the doorstep

Noted filmmaker Rahul Mittra recalls how during the shooting of a chase sequence in Lucknow for his film Bullet Raja, starring Saif, they had to literally run for cover as the star actor was being mobbed aggressively. Whether an insider is involved in the attack on Saif or not, Mittra deems, “It’s horrifying that the threat has now reached one’s doorsteps and stars are not safe within the four walls of their homes too.” Threat to superstar Salman Khan became more ominous when two assailants on motorcycles fired multiple gunshots outside Galaxy Apartments, his residence.

If stars are more susceptible, even known faces from the industry can land in trouble owing to their visible presence in public domain. Recently, Mushtaq Khan, actor of movies like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Welcome and Stree 2, and comedian Sunil Pal were kidnapped in separate cases and the miscreants demanded ransom. While they were fortunate enough to escape the clutches of kidnappers, back in 1997, T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar was shot outside a temple in Jeet Nagar in Juhu area of Mumbai. His gruesome killing was provoked by his refusal to pay protection money.

Vulnerable stars

The industry today can heave a sigh of relief that days of D-gang and underworld’s hold over Bollywood, when stars were forced to dance to the tunes of gang-lords are now over. But that does not mean threats to their physical and mental health have vanished, these have only assumed new facets. If on one hand celebrities constantly face the barbs of the faceless army of trolls, on the other there is the righteous brigade demanding a ban at the slightest provocation.

While democratic protests can be justified, often the censure crosses all limits of legality and decency. Who can forget the assault on the celebrated director Sanjay Leela Bhansali at Jaigarh fort in Jaipur during the shooting of his magnum opus Padmaavat? Even as we go into print, insensitive trolls are having a field day cracking jokes about Saif. No wonder Mittra observes, “People from the entertainment industry have always been vulnerable. If toxic fandom makes lives miserable, we are held accountable for all socials evils.”

Real vs reel

So, a Diljit Dosanjh is told not to sing songs which include words like daaru. The makers are often questioned about why they make movies on gangsters. Last year, Telugu actor NT Ramaswamy was assaulted by a woman during the screening of the film Love Reddy. She was so annoyed with his negative portrayal that she slapped him on the stage, quite forgetting that reel is not real!

Trolls’ pet peeve, protestors’ common grouse, entertainment industry is click-bait to both deflect and draw attention. Blame them for all that is not well with this world is a popular sentiment too, which ignores the fact that they are entertainers and not educators. In the process, it is often forgotten that beyond the reel world, stars are real human beings and deserve empathy and not mere curiosity!