As the movie ‘Pathaan’ opened on box office with record breaking advance bookings and is being received well even on its content and make, we could not help but reflect upon all the negativity the movie was surrounded with, in the run up to its release. Before we delve into that, the success of the movie has brought a smile to not just fans of Shahrukh Khan but also those who detest the boycott culture and the general hateful diatribe in the country. Theatres have had to increase the number of shows looking at the demands of moviegoers as advance booking had already seen massive number of bookings. Trade analysts have said that the screen count for the movie is unprecedented as 300 shows were increased right after the first show taking the total screen count to 8,000 screens worldwide, with 5,550 screens in India alone.

The hate brigade of the infamous and powerful right wing in the country left no stone unturned to trash the movie by giving spurious calls for boycotting it based on vague and unintelligible claims. So preposterous were these objections raised that even the Prime Minister, likely referring to these mindless boycott parties, said during the BJP National Executive meeting in New Delhi, “No one should make unnecessary comments that would overshadow the hard work we do.” This reprimand was likely aimed at especially senior BJP leaders like Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narrotam Mishra and Bhopal MP and terror accused, Pragya Thakur as well as the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale.

It was apparent, the right wing was merely nit picking and manufacturing “faults” in the movie to create a boycott atmosphere. It is heartening to know that cinema goers and cinema lovers alike rose above this tirade and kept the art in its element, away from cheap tactics used by right wing political leaders and their many fringe groups.

It was not just right-wing politics that was up in arms against the movie but the Censor Board appeared to be submissive to this perilous narrative too. The Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Prasoon Joshi, had announced that the makers of the film were asked to make advised changes and submit a revised version.

The hate tirade

It all began when the first song of the movie, ‘Besharam Rang’ was released and since there was nothing remotely offensive about it, they went with “objectionable outfit” and “objectionable scenes”. The objection was that the actress, Deepika Padukone was donning a saffron bikini which is insulting to Hindus because saffron is a sacred colour to Hindus! In the decades of cinema where even yesteryear actresses have donned a bikini in many colours and shot all kinds of scenes with the actors, have quietly been pushed under the rug only to selectively target a film with a Muslim actor in the lead.

Ramdas Athawale, the Union Minister of state for social justice and empowerment said, “We don’t have any problem with Pathan except that it uses the phrase, ‘Besharam Rang’, in a song for the saffron colour. Saffron is not only the colour of the BJP or the Shiv Sena, but it’s the colour of the clothes that Gautam Buddha wore. About 2,500 years ago, it emerged as a colour of peace. Hence it is also an insult to Buddhism. If they don’t remove the word, besharam, our party will also agitate against the film. No colour is besharam and such a reference should be removed.”

Narottam Mishra was the first to begin this tirade. He had said, “The film ‘Pathaan’ is full of faults & based on toxic mentality. Lyrics of song ‘Besharam Rang’ and saffron and green clothes worn in the song need to be corrected or else we will take decision on whether to let the film’s screening happen in MP or not”.

There were incessant calls for boycotting the movie. Even on its release date, hate gang was still at it. Some Bajrang Dal men shouted provocative slogans, abusing prophet Mohammad while giving calls for boycotting the movie.

To oppose the Pathan movie, Bajrang Dal goons in Indore, MP shouted provocative slogans against the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). “O Mohammad, your Father’s name is ‘Jai Siya Ram’ (Hail Ram and Sita)”. #Islamophobia pic.twitter.com/d3OPZtacO4

— Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal01) January 25, 2023

Art triumphs Hate

Instead of watching these mindless boycott call videos, Twitter was flooded with movie goers and fans of Shahrukh Khan celebrating the release of ‘Pathaan’.

BLOCKBUSTER MAUSAM AT #GAIETY!! ?
Any @iamsrk release is a festival for SRKians and #Pathaan is no different! Full on celebrations have begun already!! ??

Book your tickets now: https://t.co/z4YLOG2NRI | https://t.co/lcsLnUSu9Y@iamsrk @yrf#ShahRukhKhan #YRF50 pic.twitter.com/1ZiZXXIsuQ

— Shah Rukh Khan Universe Fan Club (@SRKUniverse) January 25, 2023

The atmosphere in some theatres was electrifying.

Craze for #ShahRukhKhan is unbelievable.
His Fans celebrating the Movie #Pathan like festival.#PathaanReview #PathaanFirstDayFirstShow #SRK66 #SRKians @SRKUniverse @SRKFC_PUNE pic.twitter.com/40Vlb7EFs1

— Himanshu Purohit (@Himansh256370) January 25, 2023

Unbelievable craze for #Pathaan in #Kolkata. Look at the energy inside the hall. People watching 2 back to back shows. During #PathaanFirstDayFirstShow because of such euphoria they anticipated they will not be able to hear anything & thus booked the 2nd show too. #ShahRukhKhan? pic.twitter.com/7hFAahil5s

— Tamal Saha (@Tamal0401) January 25, 2023

Related:

Close to a month after ‘Pathaan’ hysteria, Modi cautions his partymen

Saffron brigade manufactures hateful controversy around SRK’s ‘Pathaan’

The (Love and) Hate for India’s Super Star, SRK

The post SRK’s ‘Pathaan’ survives the RW hate wave with massive box office opening appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned BJP leaders from making unnecessary and attention-grabbing statements about films and personalities. He stated during the BJP National Executive meeting in New Delhi, “No one should make unnecessary comments that would overshadow the hard work we do.”

This comes amidst calls for boycotting Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s upcoming film “Pathaan” by some senior BJP leaders, including Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narrotam Mishra and Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur. Mishra had taken issue with the color of a costume worn by Padukone in the film’s song “Besharam Rang” and called for its rectification.

A right-wing organization in Chandigarh also called for the film to be banned and for criminal action to be taken against its makers. The Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Prasoon Joshi, has already announced that the makers of the film were asked to make advised changes and submit a revised version. This follows last year’s protests by a Hindu outfit against Aamir Khan’s “Laal Singh Chaddha” in Uttar Pradesh, who accused the actor of making fun of deities.  Pathaan is scheduled to be released in India on January 25, 2023, coinciding with India’s Republic Day in IMAX, 4DX and standard formats along with dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu. Advance bookings for the film appear to be substantial.

Clearly, after the controversy wound its course, the prime minister has spoken.

Close to a month back, as reported widely on December 21, Prominent BJP leaders paved the way calling for the boycott of the movie basis a song where “saffron” colour donned by the actress and “green” colour donned by the actor have become a point of contention.

As soon as the promotional song ‘Besharam Rang’ of the movie Pathan was released, certain individuals and groups within the saffron political ideology began to employ various methods to boycott the movie. They chose to nitpick the color of the outfit worn by the lead actress, Deepika Padukone, which was orange in color. This led to a series of hateful comments stating that saffron is a holy colour for Hindus and that her outfit and scenes with Shahrukh Khan are “objectionable” and will not be tolerated. This bigotry is selective and apparent. In the history of cinema, many actresses have worn bikinis of various colours and shot all kinds of scenes with actors, but these have quietly been overlooked. The selective targeting of a film with a Muslim actor in the lead is clear.

But this does not deter the saffron brigade at all. What becomes concerning for the filmmakers is when prominent political leaders call for the boycott over this issue. The production house and actors involved have not responded to this hate tirade, and rightfully so, as such objections do not warrant their time and energy. They aim to entertain the masses.

 Elected officials and union minister’s in Modi’s cabinet were not far behind. Ramdas Athawale, the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment said, “We don’t have any problem with Pathan except that it uses the phrase, ‘Besharam Rang’, in a song for the saffron colour. Saffron is not only the colour of the BJP or the Shiv Sena, but it’s the colour of the clothes that Gautam Buddha wore. About 2,500 years ago, it emerged as a colour of peace. Hence it is also an insult to Buddhism. If they don’t remove the word, besharam, our party will also agitate against the film. No colour is besharam and such a reference should be removed.”

Madhya Pradesh Home Minster Narottam Mishra was the first to begin this tirade. He had said, “The film ‘Pathaan’ is full of faults & based on toxic mentality. Lyrics of song ‘Besharam Rang’ and saffron and green clothes worn in the song need to be corrected or else we will take decision on whether to let the film’s screening happen in MP or not”

Related:

Saffron brigade manufactures hateful controversy around SRK’s ‘Pathaan’

The post Close to a month after ‘Pathaan’ hysteria, Modi cautions his partymen appeared first on SabrangIndia.