Post by keiran on May 8, 2016 16:50:17 GMT -8
www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/hindi/If-You-Dont-Vote-You-Have-No-Right-To-Complain-on-Social-Media-Shah-Rukh-Khan/2016/05/08/article3422371.ece
If You Don't Vote, You Have No Right To Complain on Social Media: Shah Rukh Khan
By Sonali Shenoy | Express News Service Published: 08th May 2016 10:07 PM Last Updated: 08th May 2016 10:07 PM
CHENNAI: Taking three months off from acting, Bollywood's baadshah Shah Rukh Khan has been spending five hours a day exercising. But exercising the right to vote, was all he could talk about while in Chennai on Sunday. The actor who attended the 20th Foundation Day celebration at the Hyundai plant at Sriperumbudur, spoke on everything from the dire drought in the country to missing the Chennai Super Kings at this season's IPL. Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Election Day for Tamil Nadu is around the corner. What are your thoughts on getting inked?
A: You should vote even before you breathe, and even before you eat. Whoever gets elected, you have to believe that that is the best choice. In a country which 60% are under 35, this voice counts the most. So I would not appeal to only the older people, but to the youngsters more than anybody else. If you don't vote, somehow you don't have any reason to complain on social media either. So go and vote, choose the people that you want, and then complain if you want to. You can't complain about something you were not part of.
Q: IPL has been underway for about a month. How many matches have you managed to catch?
A: I am actually rushing to Kolkata right after this yaar, because I promised my players I would be there. So far, I've just seen one. But now I've started taking some time off last week for a few months, and will make it a point to go for all the Kolkata matches, otherwise the boys will complain (laughs)
Q: Do you miss having the Chennai Super Kings around?
A: Well, (I miss) their clothes for sure! Otherwise the teams are there. One has become used to changes in the teams now though. But as a combined team, yes, I miss CSK. And I would love to come to Chennai... it was always fun to come here to watch a match. Miss the boys in yellow. Hot, but really fun to come here.
Q: There's a lot of talk about how viewership ratings are at an all time low this season.
A: They always say that (low viewership) in the beginning. But don't worry, by the end of the IPL there will be a controversy (laughs). Also, I think we've had too much T20 in the last three months. But the Eden Gardens was 65 per cent full the last time I went, and that was because of the elections. The next four matches are completely full. I think in the last three years the ticket sales have seen a huge increase. This is my assessment because I get to know the numbers at the end of the ticket sales.
Q: A lot of India is suffering with drought, including Maharastra, where you live. Have you ever experienced it first hand while shooting?
A: I can't say that I have. But the situation of drought in the country is extremely sad. Whatever little I understand about this and when you read about it, it's the poor farmers that get affected the worst because it is their livelihood. And when you think of the world having reached a technologically advanced level where you even have a mobile phone, but we're still dependent on this one resource - it's a huge contrast.
Q: Everybody, even Leonardo Dicaprio, has been talking about depleting water levels because of climate change. Your thoughts?
A: My kids are more aware of the water shortage because of environmental studies. I think at an individual level, we should all take some initiatives to turn it around. I don't mean doing it through charity, because we do that through our films, but money is not going to solve this problem. This should have taught a lesson to all of us, because everything and everyone is so dependent on water.
If You Don't Vote, You Have No Right To Complain on Social Media: Shah Rukh Khan
By Sonali Shenoy | Express News Service Published: 08th May 2016 10:07 PM Last Updated: 08th May 2016 10:07 PM
CHENNAI: Taking three months off from acting, Bollywood's baadshah Shah Rukh Khan has been spending five hours a day exercising. But exercising the right to vote, was all he could talk about while in Chennai on Sunday. The actor who attended the 20th Foundation Day celebration at the Hyundai plant at Sriperumbudur, spoke on everything from the dire drought in the country to missing the Chennai Super Kings at this season's IPL. Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Election Day for Tamil Nadu is around the corner. What are your thoughts on getting inked?
A: You should vote even before you breathe, and even before you eat. Whoever gets elected, you have to believe that that is the best choice. In a country which 60% are under 35, this voice counts the most. So I would not appeal to only the older people, but to the youngsters more than anybody else. If you don't vote, somehow you don't have any reason to complain on social media either. So go and vote, choose the people that you want, and then complain if you want to. You can't complain about something you were not part of.
Q: IPL has been underway for about a month. How many matches have you managed to catch?
A: I am actually rushing to Kolkata right after this yaar, because I promised my players I would be there. So far, I've just seen one. But now I've started taking some time off last week for a few months, and will make it a point to go for all the Kolkata matches, otherwise the boys will complain (laughs)
Q: Do you miss having the Chennai Super Kings around?
A: Well, (I miss) their clothes for sure! Otherwise the teams are there. One has become used to changes in the teams now though. But as a combined team, yes, I miss CSK. And I would love to come to Chennai... it was always fun to come here to watch a match. Miss the boys in yellow. Hot, but really fun to come here.
Q: There's a lot of talk about how viewership ratings are at an all time low this season.
A: They always say that (low viewership) in the beginning. But don't worry, by the end of the IPL there will be a controversy (laughs). Also, I think we've had too much T20 in the last three months. But the Eden Gardens was 65 per cent full the last time I went, and that was because of the elections. The next four matches are completely full. I think in the last three years the ticket sales have seen a huge increase. This is my assessment because I get to know the numbers at the end of the ticket sales.
Q: A lot of India is suffering with drought, including Maharastra, where you live. Have you ever experienced it first hand while shooting?
A: I can't say that I have. But the situation of drought in the country is extremely sad. Whatever little I understand about this and when you read about it, it's the poor farmers that get affected the worst because it is their livelihood. And when you think of the world having reached a technologically advanced level where you even have a mobile phone, but we're still dependent on this one resource - it's a huge contrast.
Q: Everybody, even Leonardo Dicaprio, has been talking about depleting water levels because of climate change. Your thoughts?
A: My kids are more aware of the water shortage because of environmental studies. I think at an individual level, we should all take some initiatives to turn it around. I don't mean doing it through charity, because we do that through our films, but money is not going to solve this problem. This should have taught a lesson to all of us, because everything and everyone is so dependent on water.