Superstar Salman Khan has landed himself in a controversy after he reportedly compared himself with a raped woman when asked about the gruelling Sultan shoot.
Salman, 50, had to undergo rigorous training for the wrestling drama and in his interview to online entertainment portal Spotboye, he allegedly said that after shooting a scene, he used to feel like a "raped woman".
"While shooting, during those six hours, there'd be so much of lifting and thrusting on the ground involved. That was tough for me because if I was lifting, I'd have to lift the same 120-kilo guy 10 times for 10 different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times on the ground," he said.
"This act is not repeated that many times in the real fights in the ring. When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn't walk straight. I would eat and then, head right back to training. That couldn't stop."
Salman's comments did not go down well with many, who took to Twitter to express their angst and slam the actor.
Designer-BJP spokesperson Shaina NC asked Salman to apologise for his comments.
"Rape is an exercise of power to destruct a woman's self esteem ,from what I know of @BeingSalmanKhan he respects #women so he must apologise."
Rape is an exercise of power to destruct a woman's self esteem ,frm wht I knw of @BeingSalmanKhan he respects #women so he must apologise.
— ShainaNC (@ShainaNC) June 21, 2016
Another added, "I know Salman Khan has fans. But if his female fans are ok with his 'I felt like a raped woman' then I've just lost faith in the world."
"Salman Khan. Just another man who doesn't realize the power of words?" posted a Twiiter user.
A girl wrote, "How does Salman Khan have fans? I'm very curious to know."
You thought #SalmanKhan 's rape remark was horrendous? Watch his fans defend him https://t.co/4EQntdPAxb #India
— Chitra Subramaniam (@chitraSD) June 21, 2016
Realising that he shouldn’t have made a comparison to a rape victim, Salman added, “I don’t think I should have.” This has been backed by an audio file of the interaction, which is in the possesssion of The Indian Express.
The newspaper reports that Samlan's statement verbatim said, " When I used to walk out of that ring, it used to be actually like a raped woman walking out….I don’t think I should have (pauses). It feels like the most difficult….I couldn’t take steps. I couldn’t take steps."