Tere Naam: The buck stops here

Megha Bhatt / TNN / Apr 12, 2006, 20:17 IST

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Is Salman Khan paying the price for being a celebrity? We talk to people and find out what they think.

Is Salman Khan paying the price for being a celebrity? We talk to people and find out what they think.
Once again Salman Khan is in the news for all the wrong reasons. This time he has been sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of Rs 25,000 for killing the endangered chinkara, in Jodhpur.
And while the aam junta is, predictably happy that justice has been delivered, the film industrywallahs can't help but wonder if Salman is simply paying the price of being a celebrity.Director Vikram Bhatt went on record saying:"There are many advantages of being a celebrity, but there are an equal number of disadvantages."
Rahul Sehgal, director of the Animal Help Foundation, feels,"Salman Khan is paying a high price for being a celebrity for there are many others who kill animals and walk away scot-free. Basically, law enforcement agencies need to be active everywhere so that anyone who harms animals can be brought to justice."

Advocate Anand Yagnik states,"The Wild Life Protection Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act distinguishes animals and birds on their survival.
This rule is equally applicable to the circus. It is true that whoever gets caught for poaching is brought to book. But there are many who go unnoticed. There has to be a collective action on part of society otherwise all the laws will remain on paper only."
However criminal lawyer A R Gupta is of the opinion that there has been unnecessary hype in Salman's case, for,"The law is equal for every human being."
Dhara Agrawal, an ardent Salman Khan fan, too feels that the star deserved the sentence:"This judgement will prove that the rich and powerful are not above the law."
However, adman Prahlad Kakkar says that the question of whether Salman is paying the price of being a celebrity is irrelevant because,"There is a lot of difference between killing animals for pleasure or livelihood. He has done it only for fun and therefore he is not paying the price for being a celebrity."

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