Besharam Rang Row: BJP-TMC Slugfest Erupts Over Smriti Irani 'Miss India' Vid; Hindu Outfits Hold Protests

The controversy over a saffron costume worn by Deepika Padukone in the music video of the song ‘Besharam Rang’ in the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan starrer “Pathaan" triggered protests by Hindu outfits in several parts of India and a political slugfest between BJP and TMC in West Bengal on Friday.

Referring to actor Amitabh Bachchan’s inaugural speech at the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) on Thursday in which he said “questions being raised on freedom of expression", BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya said the megastar’s comment rang true when Arijit Singh sang “Rang de tu mohe gerua" (colour be saffron).

Taking a jibe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was present at the event, he said: “Amitabh Bachchan’s words couldn’t have been more prophetic since they were spoken in Kolkata, with Mamata Banerjee on the dais. It is like holding a mirror to the tyrant, under whose watch India witnessed the bloodiest post poll violence. She has tarnished the image of Bengal."

Responding to Malviya, TMC Spokesperson Riju Dutta tweeted an old video of Union minister Smriti Irani wearing a saffron attire apparently during the Femina Miss India contest.

BJP leader Locket Chatterjee slammed the tweet and accused Dutta of misogyny, “Shame on Mamata Banerjee for appointing such misogynist men as TMC’s national spokesperson. He has no respect for women and the choices they make in life. They resent successful women and their rise. Men like him are responsible for rising crime against women."

She further said the comment was distasteful. “I condemn it. They’ve no respect for women despite their Chief Minister being a woman. It’s unfortunate how they’re using old videos of women who’re successfully doing their job and doing politics," she told ANI.

Dutta hit back at Chatterjee stating that BJP leaders have defended rapists of 2002 Gujarat riots victim Bilkis Bano as “sanskari brahmins". “She belongs to a party that called the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case ‘sanskari brahmins’. I belong to a party whose CM is the only woman CM of the country and a symbol of women empowerment. We know how to respect women," he said.

Referring to BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh’s controversial comment in 2021 in which he said Chief Minister Banerjee should wearing Bermuda shorts to show her injured leg, Dutta said: “When Dilip Ghosh abused Mamata Banerjee saying she wears Bermuda (shorts), did he hold his ears and apologize? They should stop their hypocrisy. MP HM Narottam Mishra, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan,terror-accused Pragya Thakur should hold their ears and apologize to Deepika Padukone."

Besharam Rang Row: SRK-starrer Dunki Shoot Halted, Protests in Lucknow

BJP minister Narottam Mishra raised objections over Deepika’s saffron costume and SRK’s green costume in the song and said the makers should change it. He warned that if the changes are not made, Pathaan’s release in Madhya Pradesh will be threatened.

“In the song ‘Besharam Rang’ which is made with contaminated mentality, the actor and the actress are clad in green and saffron clothes in an objectionable manner," he was quoted as saying by PTI. He added, “I feel the title of the song ‘Besharam Rang’ is also objectionable in its sense."

BJP MLA Ram Kadam on Friday issued a statement that said the makers of Pathaan should clarify their stand over the choice of costumes and added that any film that insults ‘Hindutva’ will not run in Maharashtra.

Hindu outfits and Karni Sena disrupted the shooting of Shahrukh Khan’s upcoming movie ‘Dunki’ in Bhedaghat near Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh over objections to the saffron attire. Karni Sena members also held protests in Lucknow.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has also objected to the saffron attire and certain scenes in ‘Pathaan’ and demanded immediate rectification. Dubbing bhagwa (saffron) as besharam (shameless) and indulging in indecent acts is the height of anti-Hindu mentality, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said in a video message. “Hindu society will never accept such a film," the VHP leader added.

Meanwhile, superstar Shahrukh Khan during his address at the film festival in Kolkata said that positive people like him will stay alive. He also decried how social media is often driven by a certain narrowness of views, making it divisive and destructive.

Complaint Petition Filed in Bihar Court for ‘Hurting Religious Sentiments’

A complaint petition was filed before a court in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, seeking the register of an FIR against Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and others for “hurting religious sentiments" of Hindus in the ‘Besharam Rang’ song.

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