Sympathy for Bollywood’s Saif Ali Khan — arrested for assault

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan — a man whom by all rights I should despise, given my wife's obsession with him — was arrested Wednesday in Mumbai.  Allegedly, he was eating at a restaurant in a five star hotel with his girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor, and he popped some guy in the nose for mouthing off.

Allow me to congratulate Mr. Khan on an excellent choice of retort. I know: This is the land of non-violence and all that (apart from when the fanatical political parties decide it's time for a good riot). But Gandhi-schmandhi.  Some kinds of behavior can only be answered by a punch in the schnozz.

As the playground saying goes: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

Here's Saif and Kareena, enjoying a particularly good meal at Wasabi, a posh Japanese joint at one of the Taj hotels in Juhu, when some lowly dukkanwallah (shopkeeper) has the nerve to tell them to keep it down.  I'm SO sure what they were saying was MUCH more interesting than the conversation that this Iqbal Sharma was trying to have.  Which is the point Saif apparently made before he uncocked his fists for some real life dishum-dishum: "If you want quiet, go find yourself a library," the Times of India has Saif saying.

Fair enough.  (Okay, there are hardly any libraries in India, and they don't serve food.  But Saif is a SUPERSTAR).

One thing I do want to make sure I tell my wife, however.  According to Mr. Sharma, Saif and "two of his associates" were responsible for his broken nose. 

That's hardly what you'd expect from a bankable hero.