Jan 26 (Dawn) – With only a few days left for its release in India, Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan is facing yet another challenge from the public. According to Indian media, film posters were torn down and burnt in a cinema hall in Bihar’s Bhagalpur by a group of nationalist Hindu protesters.
The protesters set the posters on fire at the Deepprabha cinema hall and shouted “film chalega, hall jalega [the movie plays, the hall will burn].”
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According to the Indian Express, the Bajrang Dal members said, “The youth said that Hindutva cannot be compromised. Any element that opposes the Sanatan culture will not be tolerated in Bhagalpur [or in] the whole of India.”
The protesters said that if the film is shown in theatres of Bhagalpur, it will be strongly opposed. According to the publication, the manager of the cinema, Lalan Singh, said an application has been submitted to the local police station and the administration has assured the cinema that security will be provided.
Indian Express reported that on Monday, right-wing activist Satya Ranjan Bora lodged a police complaint against Khan’s upcoming film at the Geetanagar police station in Assam. The film was mired in controversy after its first song, ‘Besharam Rang,’ was posted online.
Earlier this month, members of Bajrang Dal caused a ruckus at the Alpha One Mall in Ahmedabad during the promotion of the film. They tore down the posters of SRK as well as co-stars John Abraham and Deepika Padukone and vandalised the cinema ticket box area. They had also threatened cinema owners against screening the film.
The controversy surrounding Pathaan began when Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra strongly opposed Padukone’s clothing in ‘Besharam Rang’.
“The costumes in the song at first glance are objectionable. It is clearly visible that the song of the film Pathaan has been shot with a dirty mindset,” the BJP minister had said.
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