Oscars organisers recently extended their invitation to several Bollywood stars including Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman Khan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone asking them to join the Academy and vote in next year’s entries.
However, much to the surprise to Indian film lovers, the Academy has chosen not to invite the King Khan. As expected, the decision did not go down well with the Shah Rukh Khan fans, who took to social media platforms to register their protests forcing the Academy to issue a clarification.
https://twitter.com/MachindraDivate/status/880482194480922624
The day when they will say 'and the #Oscar goes to Shah Rukh Khan' -I will say congratulations Oscar U finally grew up
— Seda Kh-Aryan (@SedShah) February 28, 2017
According to them, they have invited only those who have done something extremely well in their fields.
The statement from the Academy said, “The basic requirement is that a candidate must have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the field of theatrical motion pictures.”
The justification has once again made SRK fans furious.
Here’s how they reacted;
https://twitter.com/SRK_FC/status/881700804066910208
Luks lyk da Kardashians helped da @TheAcademy wid dr research on Indian cinema. Or is it dr president? Can't tell.?https://t.co/qGKA4qMyUB
— Ramiz Balayil (@ramizbalayil) July 3, 2017
Wondering Why Shah Rukh Khan Wasnt Invited To The Oscars? Heres The Reason And Its Absolutely Ridiculous https://t.co/KgvqO6r4aH pic.twitter.com/6FgW5QAURq
— Faceless (@Omaa2020) July 1, 2017
Shah Rukh, for his part, has said in the past that the coveted Oscar Awards were inspirational and not a benchmark, even as he mooted the idea of creating a similar yardstick for the Indian cinema.
“When you see a property like Oscars it’s inspirational if not a benchmark. They have been going on for years, they have created an academy, everybody looks upto them, not only that, the Golden Globe, BAFTA, but Oscars is the most popular and viewed,” Shah Rukh had told reporters last year.
“If we can create a property for Indian cinema, then it’s good. It’s ok to take a cue from there, but not think it as a benchmark, rather create a benchmark for ourselves,” he said.
The Academy Awards, or Oscars, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognise excellence in cinematic achievements in the United States film industry.