Muzaffarpur/Bihar: A Bihar court has received a complaint seeking an FIR against Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone for "hurting the religious sentiments" of Hindus. It said that a song from the duo starrer 'Pathaan' has elements objectionable to the Hindu faith.
The complaint was registered in Muzaffarpur district by a lawyer, Sudhir Ojha, before the CJM court on Friday, and the case will be listed for hearing on January 3.
Ojha told the media, "The song 'Besharam Rang' of the film 'Pathaan' is objectionable, and it hurts the sentiments of the Hindu community."
Since its release, the song has become a controversy in two states in the country. In Madhya Pradesh, a right-wing outfit staged a protest against the film, stating that actress Deepika was wearing a saffron bikini which hurt the sentiments of Hindus.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra issued a statement that sounded threatening, saying that the state government consider the film's screening if the song with Deepika wearing saffron is not "corrected".
Ram Kadam, a Maharashtra BJP MLA, said that "Pathaan" is "insulting towards Hindutva". "JNU-dhaari" (people standing with JNU) are hurting the sentiments of the "janeu-dhaari" (Hindus who wear the sacred Brahmin thread), he said, in tweets in Hindi and Marathi, he said, accusing Padukone for standing with JNU students over the 2020 clashes.
"Any film or serial that insults Hindutva will not be allowed in Maharashtra," he added, signing off with "Jai Sri Ram".
He demanded that the film's producer and director explain themselves in front of the "saints, mahatmas, Hindus organisations, and crores of people on social media" who have been protesting the movie because Maharashtra, the state that is home to the Hindi film industry, has a "government with Hindutva ideology."
Many protesters, including BJP leaders, have accused the Muslim actor and Hindu actress of engaging in "love jihad," citing their "saffron" and "green" costumes in the song "Besharam Rang" as evidence. They have demanded a boycott of the film or possibly the entire Bollywood industry.