Priyanka Chopra defends Shahrukh Khan, says celebrities are soft targets

Mumbai: Even as controversy raged over Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik asking India to provide security to superstar Shahrukh Khan in the wake of his reported remarks, actress Priyanka Chopra feels that celebrities are becoming a "soft target". "I believe people often use celebrities to advance their propagandas... Celebrities have become a soft target nowadays," Priyanka told reporters at an event where she unveiled the video of her single "In My City".

The actress was reacting to the controversy involving Shahrukh Khan over his remarks, which he reportedly made in an interview, that "he has sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make him a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in India". Shahrukh's remarks prompted Malik to ask Indian government to provide security to the actor.

"Media should not get trapped in such situations and aim at telling the truth," she said. To a query whether she would have encountered more controversies had her title being 'Khan', the visibly miffed actress retorted, saying, "I think I get into controversies with 'Chopra' surname too. A big deal is being made out of nothing. You should be ashamed to even ask such a question in a country as secular as India."

PTI