People are Furious At Shah Rukh Khan and His Son Aryan, Here's Why

Another day, another nepotism debate. This time, it is Shah Rukh Khan and his son Aryan that netizens are furious with, and it has something to do with our favourite childhood cartoon.Yep, we are talking about The Lion King. With the live-action remake of the iconic film all set to release this July, Shah Rukh Khan recently Tweeted his excitement at being cast to dub the film in Hindi along with his son Aryan. The two were even seen twinning in Mufasa and Simba t-shirts at the recent India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match in London.

Talking about the project, Shah Rukh said in a recent interview, "Voicing the father-son duo of Mufasa and Simba has been such a wonderful personal and professional moment for Aryan and me. It will be really special to watch this movie with our little one, AbRam, as he is a big fan of the film. And watching his big brother and father voice the characters in this live-action version is surely going to make it a memorable experience."

He further added, "I hope families can make some happy memories together watching The Lion King, as much as my family had fun being part of it."

 

 

 

 

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Ready for the match with the spirit of #FathersDay. Go India Go!!

A post shared by Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) on Jun 15, 2019 at 9:29pm PD 

 

While Shah Rukh seems super-excited that he and his son are a part of the film, the Twitterati are less than pleased. People took to the Internet to voice their indignation about the casting, expressing anger that Aryan was cast for the role of Simba and are calling Shah Rukh Khan “The king of nepotism”. Here are some of their comments:

 

Srk.. The Nepotism King#TheLionKing pic.twitter.com/2R5TYek08k

— Kunal (@Kunal25904355) June 17, 2019

When even Disney knows that Bharat mein #TheLionKing jaisi strong script bechne ke iye bhi nepotism ka sahara lena padega.
Yes, we deserve it.
Also, no problem that Aryan wants 2 do films, but handing him TLK on a platter to debut is what nepotism is all about. https://t.co/xeLiN8DOXH

— Lakshya Mittal (@LakshyaMittal2) June 17, 2019

So like nepotism, but now in Disney cartoons. #TheLionKing #Disney https://t.co/0Tm1SSNTyp

— desi girl?? (@prachisingh27) June 17, 2019

Indian people rejected dynastic politics but still is incapable to reject dynastic rule in bollywood.
Hope good days prevail there. #TheLionKing

— Aishik Sinha (@SinhaAishik) June 17, 2019

 

So, what exactly are people angry about? The argument is that Simba is the central character in The Lion King. Actor-rapper-producer-writer and comedian (phew, that’s quite a list!) Donald Glover voices him in this 2019 remake (James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa, Simba's father). Aryan’s only prior experience has been In 2004, when he dubbed for Dash in The Incredibles (he was seven years old at the time and Shahrukh was dubbing for Mr. Incredible). Oh, and there was that one scene in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham in which he  plays the toddler version of his dad. Apart from that, he is best known for being Shahrukh Khan’s son and people think that these credentials are not enough for him to be cast to voice the lead in a remake of a much-loved classic. Shah Rukh is no stranger to the N-word, and was in the eye of the nepotism storm when his daughter Suhana was featured on a magazine cover last year.

 

While it is true that star-kids in Bollywood do seem to get opportunities on a platter, they are also under a lot of pressure to prove themselves and ultimately have to perform and provide evidence of their talent to get ahead in the industry. As of now, the nepotism debate in Bollywood rages on, and it doesn’t seem like people are going to get over it any time soon.