The Ambani bash was full of Bollywood’s biggest stars, but one jest by SRK has soured the mood. When he brought RRR star Ram Charan on stage alongside Salman and Aamir to dance to Naatu Naatu, little did anyone expect the ensuing controversy.
Calling Charan to the stage with some gibberish Tamil followed by the now infamous words “Idli Ram Charan” was surely meant as a lighthearted joke.
But many saw it as furthering outdated stereotypes about South Indians that SRK has relied on for laughs before.
From his nasal “Aiaio mind it” Tamilian in Ra One to the over-the-top Chennai Express, SRK has long mined comedy from caricatures of the South. But times have changed, and audiences, especially in the four thriving Southern film industries, no longer find such jokes funny.
Considering SRK’s close collaborations with revered Tamil directors like Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan, his persistent deploying such stereotypes is especially puzzling. His makeup artist walking out in protest shows the depth of insult felt.
While SRK remains hugely popular in the South for his movies and persona, this incident has soured that goodwill. Calls for an apology are growing louder, with fans and critics pointing out it’s high time he evolves past such lazy humour at the expense of others.
Whether he acknowledges the misstep or sticks to his guns, it’s undeniable SRK now finds himself on shaky ground in the booming new power centres of Indian cinema, whose artists he continues to diminish with his dated approach to comedy.
