Bollywood superstar Salman Khan unhappy with his Range Rover

There is no denying fact that Indian celebrities have a reputation of throwing tantrums and making their discontent regarding any issue public. This trend is prevalent more in Bollywood actors and actresses as they make full use of their popularity to gain attention. Superstar Salman Khan has a reputation for conflict and, in the past, has been involved in altercations with numerous people. The actor has a huge fan following in India and is loved for his honest, carefree and positive approach to life apart from his movies. Khan is a keen lover of cars and has a huge collection of them. Among these vehicles is a model from Land Rover, which is not performing to his expected standards. The actor, expressing his anguish, launched an attack on the company using micro-blogging portal Twitter.

The Dabangg actor, using his Twitter handle @BeingSalmanKhan, lashed out on Range Rover, stating everything that he went through because of the car's poor condition. According to him, the condition of his Range Rover vehicle has been particularly poor, forcing the actor to get the brake pads changed on nine occasions in a period of around a year and a half. “Meri bichari Range Rover ke hal kharab hai in last 1&1/2 yrs 9times brakepads hv failed 1bari pura suspension gaya or kal gadi he baith gayi,” the actor tweeted. Adding further about the brake pads and condemning the attitude of customer care services, the actor wrote, “The company guys say its a heavy car so the break pads vil wear off hehehe toh bus truck aur train n planes ka rose badalte hongay kya. so kinda pissed with the attitude of the people at Range Rover they hv no concept of customer service.” However, one good thing that came out of this incident is the fact that he enjoyed a rickshaw ride. Regarding the same, Khan wrote, “Kal raat ko jab gadi bandh padi had to take a rick home, really enjoyed the rickshaw ride : ).”

Industry experts feel that this incident might take a toll on the reputation of the firm. Salman Khan is known for stating his purpose clearly in public and does not mince words. In the past, several times, the actor has been pretty open about his fights or quarrels. As far as this case is concerned, the company might feel hard done as it enjoys a good reputation across the globe. Also, officials from Land Rover, according to sources, have claimed that Khan is overstating the problem and making a mountain out of a molehill. The reaction of officials from the firm is yet to come and no statement has been released. Experts feel that Range Rover might be forced to apologise to the actor on Twitter after taking care of whatever malfunction has taken place. Due to the fact that a brand like Salman Khan is involved in this incident, news channels and tabloids are sure to make full use of it to get TRP and increased readership, respectively. In addition, for companies to succeed in India, it is really important for them to maintain their value. And happenings like these have the potential to damage the reputation as these words are read by millions. Although it might seem a little far fetched but tweets of Salman Khan can lure one of his fans away from buying a Range Rover, something that has extremely low probability but considerable plausibility.

This incident is likely to stay in news for sometime to come as it involves one of the most popular celebrities in the country, who, evidently, has a penchant for controversies. The incident also reflects the kind of power social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook possess. Indian people, generally, are influenced to a large extent by national icons and their opinions. Celebrities use Twitter as a platform to interact with fans and get closer to them. Twitter is also used by personalities to state any of their grievances regarding issues.