A female actor in Assam has allegedly received rape and murder threats for a role she plays in a television serial which is accused of encouraging ‘love-jihad’ by a section.
Preety Kkongana, who plays the role of Janmoni, the protagonist, in the serial ‘Begum Jaan’ being telecast in a local television channel, filed an FIR at Dispur police station on July 10.
“Two persons namely – Bikram Nath and Kishor Das – have been threatening me and harassing me mentally for a long time. Bikram Nath has even threatened me of rape, acid attack and murder. Kishor has used abusive words against me on social media and said of rape and murder. This is extremely disturbing for me and I am worried for myself and family. They have also called me a prostitute and abused me on social media,” Kkongana told The News Mill.
She said, in the serial, she plays the role of a Hindu girl who was helped by a Muslim man in a difficult situation. “Then, in the village, someone spreads a rumour that Janmoni (her character) elopes with the Muslim man. But actually she does not,” Kkongana added.
Many organizations have been calling for a ban on the serial claiming that it encourages ‘love jihad’ and many have targeted the artists of the serial.
“It is very painful when people react without watching the serial. There is nothing like love-jihad in the script. There is no communal angle in it. On the contrary, it wants to depict how humanity is much bigger than religion,” she added.
Kkongana, a well known model and actor, said that she hopes that this kind of trend of attacking the artist comes to an end.
Several groups – mostly Hindu fundamentalists – have accused that the serial is encouraging the ‘love-jihad’. These groups have claimed that the Hindu girl has eloped with a Muslim guy shunning her own religion.
This allegation, however, has been denied out rightly by the production house. AM Televisions, under which the serial is made, said that there is nothing of that sort in the serial where the girl and the boy fall in love or marries.
“There is nothing in the serial Begum Jaan which goes against the Hindu dharma. Without watching the serial some people have projected it as love jihad and a serial where the Hindu sentiment is hurt. I request everyone to refrain from such comments, anyone wants to see, we are open to show the entire serial and if you all think anything or any scene which might hurt the sentiments of the Hindu religion is there we are ready to delete it,” said Sanjive Narain, proprietor of AM Televisions, the production house.
As per the latest report of NCRB, the rate of crime against women in Assam stood at 166 for 2018, almost three times the national average rate of 58.8 and marginally above Delhi’s crime rate of 149.6. Haryana was placed third on the list of shame with a crime rate of 107.5 against women.
