Bollywood ‘King Khan’ aka Shah Rukh Khan on Tuesday said that leading Bollywood stars stayed silent on 'Padmaavat' controversy not out of fear, but to avoid hurting the film's chances at the box office. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film faced a lot of trouble ahead of its January 25 release as various Rajput groups were up in arms against the movie over its portrayal of Queen Padmavati and Rajput honour. Shah Rukh said the perception that the industry does not unite in times of crisis is wrong.

"Sometimes when people are going in an 'uprising', you should just stand back. Nobody is scared, fearful or hiding their own skin as is said about Bollywood stars, 'Oh these people just want to earn money and not do anything for the society.' No. We love our society, we make entertaining films, and we want our society to be happy," he said at the 'Media - Shaping the Future and Entertainment' panel discussion at Magnetic Maharashtra event here.

The King Khan said, he in fact, suggested the film's team to remain quiet during the controversy, rather than giving importance to the protests. "If more prominent actors, actresses and directors came and talked about this film... As a matter of fact, many a time I suggested to their team, not to talk about this, just keep quiet because you are giving wind to fire. And suddenly these people are getting more recognised by the virtue of being on all the news channels. So don't give them importance," Shah Rukh said. When asked whether creative people should have thick skin in times when creativity is in danger, the actor said dissent is a part of the process, but creative people are more emotional and they tend to become "a little wary".