‘Pathaan’ controversy likely to reach Madhya Pradesh Assembly

Amid rising demand to ban the film in theatres, the issue is likely to be discussed in the upcoming winter session of the Assembly scheduled to commence from Monday.

Bhopal: The controversy over the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starter film ‘Pathaan’ is yet to die down in Madhya Pradesh.

Amid rising demand to ban the film in theatres, the issue is likely to be discussed in the upcoming winter session of the Assembly scheduled to commence from Monday.

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The controversy around Pathaan’ was triggered after state Home Minister Narottam Mishra objected to a song from the film titled Besharam Rang’, claiming that it hurt religious sentiments of the Hindu community. Mishra said the way the colours saffron and green have been used in the costumes used in the song is objectionable.

Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam went one step further and asked Shah Rukh Khan if he would dare to watch his movie ‘Pathaan‘ along with his daughter.

“Will he (Shah Rukh) dare to watch film with his daughter? I am asking Shah Rukh Khan, your daughter is 23-24 years old, watch your movie with her,” Gautam said on Saturday.

With the five-day winter season set to begin on Monday, the issue is likely to be raised by the BJP on the floor of the House.

Besides the BJP and other right wing groups, some Congress members and several Muslim organisations have also demanded a ban on the release of ‘Pathaan’.

Meanwhile, some other politicians are of the view that boycotting the film will not be the right step.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha has come forward in support of the movie, saying he doesn’t support boycotting something as it is an anti-social process.

“No matter you like the film or not, it is for the censor board to decide if a movie should be released. If anyone has any problem, he/she should bring it to the notice of the censor board. The censor board will see if there are any objectionable scenes and suggest to delete them accordingly,” Tankha said.

He said that if people start making personal comments against the artistes of a film, there is no end to it and it is also not good for the image of the country or the society.

After the song Besharam Rang’ was released, #BoycottPathaan started trending on Twitter as many objected to Deepika donning a saffron bikini in the song.

‘Pathaan’ is set to hit the screens on January 25, 2023.