Mumbai, February 7: As the nation bid a heartfelt farewell to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, visuals of actor Shah Rukh Khan saying a dua at the cremation ground won hearts on social media, while also triggering a controversy.
Visuals from the cremation ceremony at Shivaji Park in Mumbai show Khan and his manager Pooja Dadlani paying their last respects to the singer. A photo of Khan with his hands raised in dua and of Pooja Dadlani, his manager, with her hands joined in a pranaam went viral on social media. Many appreciated how the picture captured India's diversity.
From politicians, to authors, to student leaders, people from various areas appreciated his warm gesture. Fans touched by his gesture, started calling the snap as ‘a picture of secular India’.
It sparked off a major controversy on social media. While some netizens strongly condemned SRK for his gesture, there were others who rubbished the claims and stated that he was simply "blowing air". Reportedly, this gesture, in Islam, is known to ward off the evil spirits or 'Satan'. Many SRK fans defended the actor and shared the truth behind the "spitting" angle that has gone viral on the internet.
One Twitter user wrote, "Srk did not spit, he blew to ward off evil for Lataji as per his religion & if people read more like I did, they would understand."