Bollywood woke up to another social media war this week after a statement from actor Vivek Oberoi's recent podcast interview began circulating online. Within hours, hashtags, angry posts, and fan wars took over. But a closer look at whether he even said "Kaun Shah Rukh Khan?'' paints a very different picture.
During a long discussion on fame, legacy, and how public memory shifts over time, Oberoi was speaking about the fleeting nature of stardom when he remarked, "In 2050, people will say, 'Who is Shah Rukh Khan?' Maybe. Like today, people may wonder, 'Who is Raj Kapoor?' We say, 'He is the God of cinema'. But if you ask a youngster who is a fan of Ranbir (Kapoor), he might not even know Raj Kapoor. History delegates you into nothingness."
A viral post on the popular Reddit group BollyBlinds&Gossip attempted to decode the uproar. Users argued that the outrage came from a cropped context rather than the actual sentiment. One comment read, "Yeh SRK ke statement wala cheez itne baar aata raha. I had to watch and see what he said. People have made so much hoopla about a statement said in a different context. Sab apne apne hisab se usko todd marodd ke lete rhte. (This SRK statement keeps coming up again and again. I had to watch and see what he said. People have made so much hoopla about a statement said in a different context. Everyone keeps misconstruing it as per themselves.)
Another user added, "Exactly the emotion and context with which he said that statement is completely ignored. And has been reinterpreted into an arrogant declaration, but it was not said in a boastful way, but in a low-key melancholy of the overall conversation."
A third broke it down with an example from film history, "What he is saying is quite valid. He just got the time duration wrong. How many of us have heard about Chandra Mohan let alone see his single movie? Chandramohan was a big star in the 30s and 40s in Hindi movies... The world might not forget Shah Rukh Khan but you can't say the same with all the other popular actors today. And if you stretch the duration by a couple of more decades, people might even forget SRK."
During the podcast, Vivek Oberoi also spoke about the deep joy he feels when children he once helped during their cancer treatment grow up and build meaningful lives. Some of them have got married. On special days, they send him messages or voice notes thanking him for supporting them during their hardest moments. He revealed that these experiences have reshaped his understanding of what it truly means to leave a legacy.
During a long discussion on fame, legacy, and how public memory shifts over time, Oberoi was speaking about the fleeting nature of stardom when he remarked, "In 2050, people will say, 'Who is Shah Rukh Khan?' Maybe. Like today, people may wonder, 'Who is Raj Kapoor?' We say, 'He is the God of cinema'. But if you ask a youngster who is a fan of Ranbir (Kapoor), he might not even know Raj Kapoor. History delegates you into nothingness."
A viral post on the popular Reddit group BollyBlinds&Gossip attempted to decode the uproar. Users argued that the outrage came from a cropped context rather than the actual sentiment. One comment read, "Yeh SRK ke statement wala cheez itne baar aata raha. I had to watch and see what he said. People have made so much hoopla about a statement said in a different context. Sab apne apne hisab se usko todd marodd ke lete rhte. (This SRK statement keeps coming up again and again. I had to watch and see what he said. People have made so much hoopla about a statement said in a different context. Everyone keeps misconstruing it as per themselves.)
Another user added, "Exactly the emotion and context with which he said that statement is completely ignored. And has been reinterpreted into an arrogant declaration, but it was not said in a boastful way, but in a low-key melancholy of the overall conversation."
A third broke it down with an example from film history, "What he is saying is quite valid. He just got the time duration wrong. How many of us have heard about Chandra Mohan let alone see his single movie? Chandramohan was a big star in the 30s and 40s in Hindi movies... The world might not forget Shah Rukh Khan but you can't say the same with all the other popular actors today. And if you stretch the duration by a couple of more decades, people might even forget SRK."
During the podcast, Vivek Oberoi also spoke about the deep joy he feels when children he once helped during their cancer treatment grow up and build meaningful lives. Some of them have got married. On special days, they send him messages or voice notes thanking him for supporting them during their hardest moments. He revealed that these experiences have reshaped his understanding of what it truly means to leave a legacy.
