[layperson]

Originally Posted by Maddog
Consider this from a man who

1. who is not a fan of Bollywood, hindi movies or SRK
2. who always speaks english in front of my indian and pakistani friends even though i understands hindi and urdu quite well and my hindi would sound okay. i just dont want them to give the satisfaction that some bengali speaks their mother toungue.
3. who didnt even know there was a SRK concert happening in BD.
4. and who after watching the gazi episode really thinks gazi illias is really THE stupidest person in Bangladesh.

Consider these facts..
1. SRK is a bollywood hero , he speaks hindi and english..its a known fact. Bollywood is the most popular film industry in Bangladesh whether i like it or not. and there is no point in going all sanctimonious about it because the simple fact is there is not even a half-decent film industry in bangladesh.
2. You are not being forced to see the show on tv, let alone buying the tickets and seeing it live! Gazi Illias forced himself into the stage fighting few other people.. he wasn't chosen.. he chose himself to be there.
3. there is some basic etiquette that even the dumbest of us follows.. u don;t speak ill of someone's mother-tongue. Doesn't matter where u r. and SRK, whether u like it or not, has come as a guest. its one thing not to know hindi..many don't. its another thing to go on stage and tell it to some guys face he doesn't like his mother tongue. for some of u, it might be bravado. for me its just thunka patriotism gone incredibly stupid.
4. Given the live nature of the program, SRK actually did pretty well in trying to keep his calm and control the scenario. he is an artist and a performer. There is incredible pressure on him to keep the program in schedule and making sure viewers get their money's worth. they didnt tune in to see some clown making fool of himself.
5. his attitude up there was simply bizarre. calling his GF and then saying his wife is on the audience.. drinking water from Shahrukh khan's bottle!

Could not have said it any better. Agree with every word of the post above.