BJP Yuva Morcha protest against ‘Dilwale’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’

Two big releases of the year – Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Dilwale’ and Ranveer Singh’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’ which hit theatres on Friday, faced protests by fundamentalists in some parts of the country.

While demonstrations were held against ‘Dilwale’ in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad and parts of Rajasthan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus ‘Bajirao Mastani’ faced protests in Pune.

The Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha held a protest against the screening of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer 'Dilwale' in Jabalpur. Protestors were seen burning down posters of the film and Shah Rukh Khan in both the cities.  

The reason for the agitation is Shah Rukh Khan’s statement of “extreme intolerance” in the country that he made last month on his 50th birthday while interaction with the press. The actor’s remarks on growing intolerance towards creativity and religion had snowballed into a political controversy with a saffronites criticising him.

Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya called Shah Rukh “anti-national” while Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi termed him “Pakistani agent.” BJP leader Yogi Adityanath even compared him to Pakistani terrorist Hafeez Saeed.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajarang Dal, have also been protesting against the Shah Rukh Khan starrer in Rajasthan over the last few days for the same reason. Two people, allegedly from Bajarang Dal also filed a memorandum against the release of 'Dilwale' to the local administration.

The cine wing of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Chitrapat Sena has also appealed to the masses not to patronise 'Dilwale' as its lead actor Shah Rukh Khan remained unmoved by the farmers' plight in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, the BJP Yuva Morcha also held protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Bajirao Mastani', which led to the cancellation of three shows in Pune's City Pride theatre. The demonstrators were also joined by the descendants of Peshwa and Chhatrasal dynasty.

The protestors have alleged that the film has distorted history regarding the life of Peshwa Bajirao, which, they feel, is 'hurting' the sentiments of his followers.