Mumbai, Dec 17: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has opposed the government's idea of displaying a warning ticker during every smoking scene in a film.
Shah Rukh Khan, known to be a chain smoker, saidin Hyderabad, which running a ticker at the bottom of the screen during a smoking scene would interrupt the film viewing experience.
In the first edition of Don, SRK was shown smoking and this had triggered a controversy between him and the then Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss in 2008.
On the demand of anti-tobacco lobby to remove smoking scenes from films, SRK said, he, however, had a solution for it. He cited his last release Ra.One as an example.
In Ra.One, Shah Rukh's character was seen speaking about how crores of people give up smoking, when they die due to it. Including a public message, without being preachy, would be enough to put off people from smoking, he said.
Shah Rukh says that tickers and tapes in the middle of a film are ‘unrealistic'.
According to him, they disrupt the flow of the movie. “To erase, ban or insert a ticker tape on the screen would be a little unartistic and too controlling,” he said.
According to Shah Rukh Khan, a warning should be enough to dissuade people.
A public advisory before the movie begins should be the responsibility of every filmmaker.
“If it is a legal sale of something, I think just the warning is sufficient. We should have a public service message as we do for event stunts, that don't try this stunt at home. Similarly you should not smoke or consume alcohol,” Shah Rukh added.
