Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is no stranger to controversy, even if it is not always his fault.
He has been detained thrice by immigration authorities when entering the USA because of his surname; has been taken to court by activists in Mumbai accused of breaching heritage laws in a property he owns; and has had brushes with the Income Tax Department as well.
Nor has his association with the IPL been free of scandal either.
He first became involved in the franchise league when, together with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta, he acquired ownership rights to the franchise that would become the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
The year 2012 would prove to be inauspicious for him. In April, he was smoking during a match between Kolkata and Rajasthan Royals in Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
A man named Anand Singh Rathore subsequently lodged a formal complaint against him in contravention of Rajasthan’s anti-smoking laws that had been enacted 12 years earlier, making smoking in public places an offence.
Five days later, the police fined the Rajasthan Cricket Association INR 200 for letting him openly flout the law. Shah Rukh was summoned to appear in court.
He pled guilty and was fined INR 100, a decision that divided public opinion. Some felt that he had got off lightly, while others felt that it was not a grave offence, and the fine was both proportionate and as per norms.
In his defence, Shah Rukh explained that he had developed a smoking habit after having problems with sleeping. He sometimes forgot to eat as well. He admitted to drinking about 30 cups of black coffee and smoking up to 100 cigarettes a day.
A month later, he became embroiled in a much more serious incident at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, when he allegedly got drunk (a claim that was subsequently disproved) and got into a public scuffle with a security guard whom he accused of mishandling his daughter during the post-match celebrations after the IPL final.
He also verbally abused officials of the Maharashtra Cricket Association, and was banned from the stadium for five years.