When I woke up this morning to watch the Oscars 2022, I was looking forward to witness the celebration of cinema. But I never expected that a physical altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock will become the highlight of the whole event that will overshadow even the former’s maiden Oscar win.
What happened was that when Chris, who was there to present an award, came on stage, he made a joke on Jada Pinkett Smith, Will’s wife, which didn’t go down with the actor, who went on the stage and punched him on live TV. The incident raises the question about what line do comedians and hosts tread on so as to not make anything offensive.
Today, at a press conference for IIFA Awards 2022, Salman Khan, who was one of the attendees, was asked about his opinion on how sensitive the hosts should be regarding their material, to which, the actor had a straight reply.
Salman said,
“As a host, you need to be sensitive. Humour is always above the belt. below the belt humour is not okay.”
He went on to relate his own experience as a TV host, sharing that he only ever reacted in the moments, where the situation demanded it, and it was never to generate drama for TV.
He says,
“I have hosted Dus Ka Dum, Bigg Boss and other shows, and it’s only when it comes to an extreme situation like someone is misbehaving with someone else, that is the only time I get slightly angry. And it is for (the betterment of) the show, the people watching the show and the person who is being bullied. Even in Bigg Boss, when things happen beyond a limit behind the scenes, then only I react because I have to. At the end of the day, it is television and everything can’t be showed on TV. So, sometime people feel that my reaction is over in response for what has actually happened, but that is never the case. It’s only when people reach extremes of misbehaviour that I explain to them, and when they don’t improve on it, after controlling it for many episodes, I do what I do.”
Salman insists that even though he yells or gets angry at contestants in Bigg Boss, it’s never for himself or for the show, it’s always for those contestants.
The actor asserts,
“I am a host, not someone’s family, so I get back to normal the next day. It’s never personal. But people who have come in the house since the last few seasons, they have this mindset that they know what they have to do. But they don’t realise that once they get out of the house, they could be seen as unprofessional or bad-mouthed, and no one wants to work with such people.”
While comedy has become a debatable topic in today’s day and age in our country, I completely understand the place Salman’s views are coming from. With the amount of experience he has had as a host on Indian TV, I would take his word on the matter as his experience is way beyond my knowledge of it.