Is Shah Rukh Khan not supposed to travel by train or visit a railway station, questions writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, who is among the celebrities who feel it wasn't the actor's fault if a person died due to suffocation in the crowd at a railway station where the "Raees" star was promoting his film.
Shah Rukh on Monday undertook a train journey from Mumbai to Delhi, and Vadodara was one the stations where the train stopped. He waved out at his hordes of fans, who created a commotion at the station. This led to one man collapsing, and when he was rushed to hospital, he was declared dead.
Shah Rukh has called the incident "unfortunate" and even the deceased's family members have said they have nothing against the actor.
Commenting on the incident, industry veteran Javed said on the sidelines of the grand jury meet of Radio Mirchi Awards: It was not his (Shah Rukh's) fault. What do you want to say that he is not supposed to travel by train or visit a railway station?
"It is the responsibility of the railway authorities and the traffic police to ensure the safety of the fans or should have better control over the crowd."
At the same event, Ayushmann said: "I think nowadays, celebrities are very much approachable. It was an odd incident... Very unfortunate. But I think at the same time, as a member of the film fraternity, I will support Shah Rukh Khan sir as it (train journey) was part of a promotional strategy and was just a security lapse.
"You just can't blame any celebrity or marketing team for such incidents."
At an event here for Tourism New Zealand, Sidharth said: "It's very unfortunate... It was an activity and they were promoting their film.
"All of us plan to promote our films (innovatively) and it's a good intention to promote our movies. We have been doing the marketing of films, and it's not the first time that anybody was doing a marketing trip or going out to promote their film.
"But definitely, what has happened, is unfortunate. Nobody planned for it. It's something that shouldn't have happened."
A huge crowd had thronged Vadodara railway station to see Shah Rukh on Monday night as he was travelling to Delhi on August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Mumbai.
HAVE NOTHING AGAINST SRK: KIN OF DECEASED
Suffocation due to crowd led to the death of a social activist who collapsed during Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's train stopover at Vadodara railway station, confirmed the deceased's family members, who also said they have "nothing against" the actor.
Farid Khan Pathan, a resident of Hatikhana area of Vadodara, was at the railway station with his wife and daughter, when Shah Rukh was present there for the promotional tour for his film "Raees".
Pathan fell unconscious and upon being rushed to a hospital, was declared dead.
Journalist Samina Shaikh, niece of the deceased, was travelling with the "Raees" team at the time.
In a statement issued on behalf of the film's team, Samina said: "It's unfortunate that my uncle lost his life due to suffocation in the crowd as he was a heart patient."
"However, Shah Rukh Khan and his team made sure that my mother and I reach safely to my uncle's funeral. We got down at Ratlam and Shah Rukh's team arranged a car for us to Vadodara to attend my uncle's burial."
The scribe also said Shah Rukh also ensured arrangements were made for their other relatives to fly in from Mumbai to Vadodara to attend her uncle's last rites.
While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Manoj Tiwari slammed Shah Rukh for the incident and urged him to compensate the family, the deceased's mother said in the statement: "We have nothing against Shah Rukh Khan as he is not at fault."
"He is also like my son... The incident has nothing to do with the 'Raees' promotional event. My son fell prey to the crowd and succumbed to death due to suffocation. All we want is prayers from everyone for my son."
A huge crowd had thronged Vadodara railway station to see Shah Rukh on Monday night as he was travelling to Delhi on August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to promote his film.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday ordered a probe into Pathan's death.
