The circus was thrown open to the public yesterday. Who’s the star attraction and who are the clowns, you ask? Vivek Oberoi, who is yet to file an FIR, now places ‘‘the responsibility on the media and society to take a stance’’ since he has already taken a ‘‘major stand’’ against Salman.Though Vivek maintained he was planning to meet the police today to discuss possible legal action, Joint Commissioner (Crime) Dr Satya Pal Singh said there was no meeting scheduled.The public stance included formally inviting the press to his house and waiting for 45 minutes until the television channels had successfully uplinked. Meanwhile, some scoop-hungry guests were served drinks and snacks.‘‘No, I’m not manipulating the media. I think now it’s the media’s responsibility to mobilise the issue,’’ said the young actor, brushing aside accusations about using the press. ‘‘What Salman has done has been ignored far too long, nobody has taken a stance before.’’ In the same breath, he added ‘‘I want to cordially resolve the issue now, but there has been no call from the family, which is in denial and in no mood to resolve the issue.’’Salman’s younger brother, actor Arbaaz Khan, dismissed Vivek’s allegations as ‘‘false and baseless’’. ‘‘Salman is a bigger star than Vivek. To become a star everyone in the industry is targeting Salman,’’ Arbaaz told reporters.Commenting on yesterday’s tamasha, actress Urmila Matondkar said: ‘‘I have nothing to say about both the actors, but it’s ridiculous that the media is lapping up anything offered to them.’’Other Bollywood heavyweights concurred, ‘‘At these times when we are on the precipice of a holocaust, I treat this silly issue with disdain,’’ said director Mahesh Bhatt. ‘‘Trivia is the concern of the nation; not the impending catastrophe that threatens to destroy us all.’’ The veteran director argued that the coverage of this sordid incident reflected the new age we have just broken into: ‘‘Just look at the channels and their mobile vans camped outside Vivek’s house. There’s an American saying, ‘If it’s not happening on TV, it’s not happening — this reality has arrived in India’.’’Director Kunal Kohli said he supports Vivek fully ‘‘on an ideological level since Salman was clearly out of line’’. However, he added: ‘‘It’s unfortunate the film industry is getting a bad rep, and is being cast in a bad light. Industrialists throw punches at each other and MPs go after each other with chairs, but we never hear much about these things.’’Not everyone agrees with Vivek’s method, though. ‘‘This story has gained mileage at the expense of critical war coverage,’’ said Salman’s friend and fashion designer Vikram Phadnis. ‘‘Vivek could have solved this problem privately. He should have tried to settle it amicably. It’s unfair that Vivek has focused on Salman’s flaws, raking up unrelated incidents from the past.’’
