# Salman distances himself from Shahid at IIFA press conference 2026-10-22T15:57:50+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Bollywood star Salman Khan publicly distanced himself from Shahid Kapoor at the IIFA press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, 22 October. A video from the event shows Shahid bending on the stairs near the stage, after which Salman took the microphone and said, ‘He (Shahid) did not touch my feet, he touched the stage.’ Social media users speculated the remark was intended to protect Shahid from the Bishnoi gang, which has reportedly threatened to target anyone working with Salman. Aajtak.in reported that a user wrote, ‘Salman bhai has made it clear that Shahid touched the stage, not my feet.’ Another said Salman is protecting his close associates. The Bishnoi gang had taken responsibility for the recent firing on Tiger Shroff. TV9 Hindi covered the event as a glamorous star-studded affair, highlighting Shahid hugging Kareena Kapoor Khan and Salman’s swagger on stage. The IIFA 2027 edition will be held in Abu Dhabi. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Aajtak.in led the story with Salman’s distancing remark and linked it to the Bishnoi gang’s threat after the firing on Tiger Shroff, amplifying online speculation that Salman was protecting Shahid. TV9 Hindi treated the same press conference as a routine celebrity event, covering fashion, hugs and Salman’s swagger without any mention of the gang. Aajtak’s framing foregrounds fear and danger, while TV9 presents a purely glamorous account. The two reports diverge sharply on what the public should take away from the same video footage. The IIFA awards are scheduled for Abu Dhabi. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist - aajtak.in (sensationalist) Leads with Salman-Shahid distance and Bishnoi gang threat speculation - tv9hindi.com (neutral report) Focuses on star interactions, fashion, no mention of gang threat This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Bishnoi gang, IIFA, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Salman Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Tiger Shroff Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/salman-distances-himself-from-shahid-at-iifa-press-conference/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/salman-distances-himself-from-shahid-at-iifa-press-conference/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/