Will Shah Rukh stop public smoking anytime soon?

New Delhi: A Jaipur trial court summoned Shah Rukh Khan for smoking in public. He did so during an IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8 in the Sawai Madho Singh stadium. The court has fixed May 26 as the next date of hearing.

However, this is not the first time Shah Rukh Khan is getting any legal notice for smoking in public. He has been criticised at several occasions including the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit and a T-20 match between India and Australia.

National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) has expressed its unhappiness over SRK’s public smoking on more than one instance. NOTE had also filed a case against Amitabh Bachchan for the same reason when he was shown smoking in an advertisement of electrical appliances, but that was not primarily his fault. Though the veteran actor is expected to know the rules, but the prime responsibility was of the makers of the advertisement. The case is not the same with King Khan because he is the sole person responsible for his genuinely public acts.

In fact, what meant a joke to him was a serious hazard for the common people. He waved the questions of smoking in public in air during the HT Summit and some journalists took it as a part of his ruthless wit, but it shows his disrespect for ethics in public life.

It's understandable that his lifestyle is very stressful and smoking couldn't be a big deal in a film celebrity's life, but they are also the role models. The way a gangster film can prompt a crime, these gestures can also do.

Further, apart from these public smoking cases, Shah Rukh Khan is extremely well behaved in open. This makes Khan endear to the people who aspire for a lifestyle like him, and they can react in an unwanted manner after seeing their ideal smoking on TV.

News reports have spoken in the past that Shah Rukh wants to quit smoking but he is just waiting for a certain thing to happen. Sometimes it was the release of one of his films, sometimes it was a crucial cricket match. The decision taking authority is confined to Khan and his family, but the normal people should be spared till he makes up his mind to really quit smoking.