Explained: Salman Khan's Dress Code Controversy And What He Said

In an interview, Salman said he doesn't like the way men look at women

Salman Khan is a main character on social media today after attempting to defend his alleged dress code for women on set and ending up compounding the controversy. On an episode of TV show Aap Ki Adalat, the actor was challenged by host Rajat Sharma on his "double standards" – was it ok to police women's clothing while himself taking his shirt off in his movies every chance he gets, Salman Khan was asked. "There is no double standard in it. I feel that a woman's body is a lot more precious, so as much as it is covered, I feel it's better," was the Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan star's problematic reply. Is #SalmanKhan only against ‘low necklines' or also against lifting skirts of women???It seems that not only politicians…actors too are taking classes in hypocrisy🤦🏻//PS - not even getting into what he allegedly did to the ‘precious' bodies of his ex-girlfriends pic.twitter.com/LZ78Pz2RNU

Asked to elaborate, Salman Khan placed the blame on the male gaze. "Ye ladkiyo ka chakkar nahi hai, ye ladko ka chakkar hai. Jis hisab se ladke ladkiyo ko dekhte hai, aapki behne, aapki biwiya, aapki mothers, wo mujhe acha nahi lagta. (It's about the boys not the girls. The way they look at girls, at your sister, wife or mother, I do not like it). So, I do not want them to go through this," Salman said, using an argument that has been employed by the custodians of patriarchal norms to punish women for their choice of outfits.

On Twitter, there has been a certain amount of backlash – unsurprisingly, many are of the opinion that Salman Khan has said and done nothing wrong but some, like satire handle The Desh Bhakt, noted that the actor's words smacked of hypocrisy while also acknowledging his alleged violence against women in his dating history.