MUMBAI: Thursday’s attack on actor Saif Ali Khan in his Bandra residence evoked shock within the film fraternity. Many questioned the safety and security of Mumbai’s citizens. Bandra celebrities said they were particularly worried.
From Parineeti Chopra, Raveena Tandon, Kunal Kohli, Pooja Bhatt, Imtiaz Ali, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Anup Jalota, to south Indian stars Chiranjeevi and Jr NTR, celebrities expressed concern for Khan’s health and wished the actor a speedy recovery.
Saif Ali Khan Health Update
Actor Pooja Bhatt said, “Law and order. We have laws… what about order? Local police are our first preventers/grassroot defenders. It is law enforcement’s duty to create an environment in which people with a criminal bent do not feel comfortable to operate. The beat officer must act as a deterrent in preventing criminal activity.”
Actor Raveena Tandon said, “Targeting celebrities in what used to be a safe residential area has become rampant, with Bandra losing out to unruly elements, accident scams, hawker mafia, encroachers, land grabbers and criminal elements. Need stronger measures.”
Director Kunal Kohli exclaimed at the horror of being attacked by a lurking assailant inside one’s home. “It is shocking and scary to find an intruder in your children’s room. Saif is a brave individual, father and husband to combat him. But how did the intruder manage to enter such a high-security building, and get right into the house? This is a high-rise apartment—not a ground-floor house. Celebrities have their own security and bouncers. What more can be done? Imagine Kareena’s horror as a mother at seeing an intruder with a knife in the children’s bedroom,” he said.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali who has directed both Saif and his actor-wife Kareena Kapoor in his movies said, “It is shocking to hear about the incident with Saif. At this point, the first things that are coming to my mind are that his injuries are not severe and that he’s going to recover soon.”
Nicknamed the Queen of the Suburbs, Bandra is home to the families of Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, the Kapoors and Mala Sinha. Upscale areas such as Pali Hill, Turner Road and the seafront of Bandstand-Carter Road are the neighbourhoods of superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, who had also faced threats, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Rekha, Farhan Akhtar and Ananya Panday.
Writer Shobhaa De said the high-profile residents of Bandra had become vulnerable. “How has the law-and-order situation deteriorated to this extent? Bandra has become a lawless state. The audacity of this attack is shocking, having occurred despite the fact that high-profile persons have security. How can one be attacked in his own house? Mumbai police have a lot to answer,” said the writer.
