Should Saif Ali Khan be stripped of his "Padma" award?

Should Saif Ali Khan be stripped of his “Padma” award?

Introduction

Actor Saif Ali Khan is under the spotlight, emerging into the news headlines. His great honour, “The Padma Shri” award is the hot topic under discussion. The actor being changed for the alleged scuffle in the restaurant in Feb 2012 has raised multiple queries regarding his eligibility for being honoured with such a great award. The actor is also facing many other criminal charges as revealed by the RTI response. The Padma Shri is one of the most honourable awards of our country which reflects the pride and dignity of the individual towards his field of expertise. The award also projects the awardee as the ideal who could guide many others on the path of high moral and ethics. With so many questions coming up on the behaviour of actor Saif Ali Khan, would it be justified to let him enjoy the same pride? Or, should Saif Ali Khan be stripped of his “Padma” award?

Yes

- The “Padma Shri” award is an honourable award which includes the respect and dignity of the person bagging the award. With so many legal charges, the actor is not the right candidate for the award.

- The actor has lost his moral conduct and behaviour and he cannot be a role model for others anymore.

- The award has some special criteria that need to be fulfilled to enjoy the dignified outlook in front of the world. A person charged with the legal offense should not be entitled for this honour.

- There are many other great artists who actually deserve this award, choosing a person who is facing legal trial and acquisitions is not a fair play.

- The member who has recommended this actor for this great honour should be made to face the public and reply with the eligibility criteria being portrayed to award this actor with the Padma, when the actor had been facing some other charges as well.

No

- The actor had been awarded for his contributions towards the field of Art, which has nothing to relate with the current acquisitions.

- The actor had been awarded the “Padma” award in 2010 and he didn’t had the charges of scuffle at the restaurant, which is the issue in 2012. The award committee can only look through the background of the candidate.

- The actor is the recipient of numerous awards and nominations, including a National Film Award and six Filmfare Awards. His contribution towards the field of Arts cannot be questioned.

- The actor had been read out the charges by the Metropolitan Court of Mumbai. However, this is not the highest court of justice. The actor can still appeal in the higher court in order to prove the charges to be false.

- The personal life of the “Padma” awardees, after receiving the award should not open up the matter for the debate to strip off the award, as far as the candidate has not done any injustice towards the field for which he had been awarded.

Conclusion

Though we can give several defensive points for the actor Saif Ali Khan, still his behaviour is unacceptable in moral and ethical rule of conduct. The person who is awarded with such a great honour of the country definitely bags the responsibility to retain the charisma. He needs to carve his personality and shapen that to fit the ideal role model for the other citizens. Such an illegal and violent behaviour doesn’t hold good for the “Padma Shri” awardee. The actor losing the award would not be all that unfair.