Mumbai: Salman Khan’s remarks against online trolling during the latest Bigg Boss 20 Weekend Ka Vaar episode have gone viral. However, an important conversation about body shaming, ageing and online harassment has now been reduced to another story about his rumoured past with Katrina Kaif.
During the episode, Salman spoke about the unrealistic expectations placed on actors and actresses. He questioned why celebrities are mocked when they gain weight, grow older or no longer look the way they did at the beginning of their careers.
Without naming anyone, Salman also referred to a woman being trolled after having a baby. He pointed out that she had recently gone through childbirth, was taking care of her family and would return to fitness when she was ready.
Considering the recent body-shaming comments directed at Katrina Kaif, social media users quickly assumed that Salman was talking about her. Soon, clips of his remarks went viral with captions such as “A man never forgets his love.”
But that interpretation completely changed the subject.
Salman was not recalling an old romance or making a declaration of love. He was questioning why a woman’s body continues to be treated as public property, even after pregnancy and childbirth. His message was about the pressure placed on actresses to look perfect at every stage of their lives.
The actor also spoke about the trolling he faces over his age and appearance. At 60, Salman acknowledged that he cannot continue looking exactly as he did during Maine Pyar Kiya. Yet, instead of discussing the unfair expectation that actors should somehow never age, the internet once again turned the conversation into relationship nostalgia.
Another major point raised by Salman has received far less attention.
He criticised paparazzi who deliberately position their cameras at uncomfortable angles while actresses enter or exit their cars. Salman mentioned videos that focus on women’s thighs, hips or backs before being uploaded with captions such as “Guess who?”
He even recalled seeing actresses become visibly uncomfortable and said women who do not consent to such filming should strongly confront the photographers responsible. His words were blunt, but the issue he raised was serious: harassment does not become acceptable simply because the person holding the camera has a press card.
Unfortunately, this part of Salman’s statement did not receive the same attention as the supposed Katrina connection.
The internet often claims that men should speak up when women face harassment or body shaming. Yet, when a man actually does so, his intentions are immediately romanticised. Instead of engaging with what Salman said, many users decided that he must still be in love with the woman they believed he was defending.
That reaction proves the very point his remarks were trying to make. A woman’s body became gossip, her motherhood became speculation and a conversation about harassment was turned into a love story.
Whether Salman was referring to Katrina or speaking more broadly should not be the most important question. The real issue is why ageing, pregnancy and weight gain are still treated as failures in an industry that expects its stars, especially women, to remain frozen in time.
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