Reacting to alleged protests by a rightwing outfit in Assam against the release of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Pathaan’, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 21 said he doesn’t know Shah Rukh Khan neither is he aware of the movie ‘Pathaan’.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on January 21, Sarma said: “Who is Shah Rukh Khan? Why should we care? We already have many Shah Rukh Khans?”
“I have not heard about any movie by the name of ‘Pathaan’ and neither do I have any time for it,” he added.
He said people should instead talk about the release of Assamese film ‘Dr Bezabaruah 2’.
“We should rather focus watching the Assamese movie ‘Dr Bezbaruah 2’, which has been directed by Sanjive Narain,” he said.
He ensured that he will act if any incident of law-and-order violation is reported.
“Action will be taken, if law and order is violated. But, so far, I have not received any complaints from the cinema hall owners or the makers of the film. If there’s been any incident, Shah Rukh Khan, himself, should have called me up. If he does so, I will look into the matter,” the Assam CM further said.
Several “rightwingers” allegedly stormed into a cinema hall in Assam’s Narengi on January 20, vandalising property and burning down posters of ‘Pathaan’.
Earlier, on January 5, members of the same rightwing outfit allegedly created a ruckus at Alpha One Mall in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur, wrecking property and tearing down posters of the movie.
‘Pathaan’ has been mired in controversy ever since Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra objected to one of its songs – ‘Besharam Rang’.
Mishra had said: “The costumes in the song, at first glance, are objectionable. It is clear that the song of the film ‘Pathaan’ has been shot with a dirty mindset.”
Helmed by Siddharth Anand, ‘Pathaan’ starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, is scheduled to release in theatres on January 25.
