Fans from one end of the country to the other were moved by a side of Salman we don’t often see. He was open with his feelings at the funeral for Kumod Raney, a friend who has been a steady part of the Khan home for some time. You could tell it meant something to him. The photos and clips from the service did the rest, racking up support on social media in no time.
Why this goodbye struck a chord
Salman is used to being in the crosshairs, but then you have a day like this and you are reminded of the private individual under all the press. He was clearly in his element of grief at the funeral; there was even a point where he let it get to him. For those of us who have been around for a while, it was a scene that made sense. And you had to be there to see who was at his side. Arpita, his mother Salma, Sohail and his stepmother Helen were all there for the last rites. They put a face to a relationship founded on a good deal of history and affection.
Who was Kumod Raney to the Khans
He wasn’t a name you’d see in the papers, but in the Khan family’s orbit, he was important. “Family friend” is what you might call him, though that doesn’t do justice to the number of Khans who came out to put in a word of farewell. The people who count in a family aren’t always the ones on screen. From the way everyone was feeling and the size of the turnout, you can put down Raney’s mark on them to a kind of trust and company that doesn’t need a spotlight to be real.
A presence behind the scenes
There are friends in these big Bollywood houses who are the ballast when the filming is done. By the looks of the send-off, Raney was one of them. It was a loss they felt in their own way, and it was plain to see.
What happened at the funeral
When Salman got there, he was in a no-fuss checked shirt and jeans, with security in tow. He was very much in the background, hands together, as he went through the motions with his kin. That kind of composure made the times he let his guard down all the more so. The paparazzi put the pictures out and the mood was right there. Fans were over the frames of him trying to keep it in check, seeing in it a connection that was far more than a nod in the street. Some of the things people will remember from the day: – Salman with his hands in prayer – The family in as one – The detail of the security – An outpouring of well-wishes from fans
Public reaction and what it reveals
It was an empathetic kind of response on the web. People were talking about his loyalty and how he has a way of standing by his own. As some put it, you grieve the same way whether you’re a star or not. In an industry where a lot of it is for show, the way they said goodbye to Raney was different. The Khans put on a display of the unvarnished sort, the kind of bond you don’t see at a premiere.
What comes next for the family
Right now, it’s about mending and being there for the ones left behind. I think the images of the funeral will stick with us for a bit, not as a story to be told, but as a case in point of how a public figure is put together by the personal ones in his life. Raney may have been off the radar, but the way he was seen to was telling. The whole of the Khans were there, and if you didn’t get the message from the turnout, you got it from the quiet sorrow on Salman’s face.
