The selection of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan as India's Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics stirred up a massive controversy after a number of sportsmen questioned Khan's credentials for the role.
While wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt said the move was a PR-exercise for Khan's wrestling-drama Sultan, there were some, like star chess player Vishwanath Anand, who saw nothing wrong with the appointment. Clearly, opinion was divided among the sports fraternity.
Now, the actor's father, noted scriptwriter Salim Khan, has jumped to the defence of Salman, going as far as saying that Bollywood as an industry helped resurrect people like Milkha Singh, by making a biopic on the sprinter.
Here's what he tweeted.
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He further said:
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Despite the criticism, the Indian Olympic Association has defended its decision. IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta on Sunday said Khan was roped in to attract more public attention towards Olympic sports by cashing in on his massive popularity "He is the biggest Bollywood star in the country in terms of mass following and our key objective of bringing him on board is to draw maximum attention from the masses, due to which there will be more eyeballs and viewership which will eventually result in popularising Olympic sports in the country," Mehta said.
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While wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt said the move was a PR-exercise for Khan's wrestling-drama Sultan, there were some, like star chess player Vishwanath Anand, who saw nothing wrong with the appointment. Clearly, opinion was divided among the sports fraternity.
Now, the actor's father, noted scriptwriter Salim Khan, has jumped to the defence of Salman, going as far as saying that Bollywood as an industry helped resurrect people like Milkha Singh, by making a biopic on the sprinter.
Here's what he tweeted.
He further said:
Despite the criticism, the Indian Olympic Association has defended its decision. IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta on Sunday said Khan was roped in to attract more public attention towards Olympic sports by cashing in on his massive popularity "He is the biggest Bollywood star in the country in terms of mass following and our key objective of bringing him on board is to draw maximum attention from the masses, due to which there will be more eyeballs and viewership which will eventually result in popularising Olympic sports in the country," Mehta said.
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