Amid Boycott Pathaan calls, Shah Rukh Khan says social media ‘driven’ by ‘narrowness of views’

At KIFF 2022, without particularly mentioning the social media reactions of people to Pathaan, SRK said, “Cinema and advent of articulation through social media platforms have now become the foremost expression of human emotions and experience. The collective narrative of our times is shaped by social media and contrary to the belief that the spread of social media will affect the cinema negatively, I believe cinema has an even more important role to play now.”

The actor pointed out how social media is “driven” by “narrowness of views” and added, “I read somewhere negativity increases social media consumption and thereby increases its commercial value as well. Such pursuits enclose the collective narrative, making it divisive and destructive.”

Shah Rukh Khan with Rani Mukerji at KIFF 2022. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Shah Rukh Khan with Mamta Banerjee at Kolkata International Film Festival. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Cinema can bring to fore ‘larger nature of humankind’

Further in his speech, Shah Rukh Khan emphasised the importance of cinema while calling it the most important medium of modern times. He said, “Cinema exposes the vulnerability of human nature by telling stories in their simplest form, as they are lived. It allows us to know each other better. In a way, it is best placed to sustain a collective counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind, a narrative that brings to the fore that humanity has an immense capacity for compassion, unity and brotherhood.”

The actor said that the need of the hour is to build a better world for the future generation. “Meeting the world at the world of cinema is the call of the day. Not just meeting, but also using the power of cinema as a vehicle for people of different cultures, colours, castes and religions to better understand each other. Through endeavours like KIFF, the endeavour is to build new platforms to break existing prejudices. Let’s come together and build a better world for our future generation through the medium of cinema,” the actor said.

‘People like us will stay positive’

SRK concluded, “No matter what the world does, people like us will stay positive.”

At the beginning of his speech, Shah Rukh, with his witty smile, had addressed the crowd in Bengali and called Amitabh Bachchan, the ‘son-in-law’ of the city. He said, “Firstly, it’s great to be in Kolkata, it’s great to see Didi, Dada, the beloved son-in-law of Kolkata, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya aunty here. We haven’t met for a long time. I am so happy to see my dear Rani… But I am the most excited to see you all. I haven’t been here for a couple of years.”

Shah Rukh Khan will next be seen promoting Pathaan during the FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France.