PM Modi cautions BJP leaders against unnecessary remarks on films

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cautioned party workers from making unnecessary remarks on irrelevant issues such as movies as they put the party's development agenda on the back-burner, the sources said.

It is worth noting that such self-inflicted controversies have ruled prime-time on television and people’s mind space.

Besides, the dramatised war content and other hyperbolic content on television news channels have put the Modi government’s outreach programme on the back-burner.

Some party leaders often take a critical stance on movies, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan being the latest example, for "hurting" people's feelings.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra is the frontrunner among BJP leaders commenting on movies.

Mishra took objection to Padukone's costume in the "Besharam Rang" and had said if certain scenes are not "corrected", the government will consider what to do about its screening in the state.

Mishra (62), a 6-term MLA of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Datia district who is also the state government's spokesperson, often hits headlines for his controversial comments - whether they are related to films or leaders of other political parties.

Before finding "faults" in the song 'Besharm Rang' and calling for their rectification, Mishra in October had warned the makers of another Bollywood film, "Adipurush", based on the epic Ramayana, of legal action if scenes showing Hindu religious figures in a "wrong" way were not removed.

Lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar too blamed Mishra for such objections.

"There are no fringe elements, the ministers are talking these things. Forget about the fringe elements. The Madhya Pradesh home minister has said it," he said.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti also joined the bandwagon and said that superstar Shah Rukh Khan is himself "responsible for so much hatred against him".

Earlier this month, several videos circulating on social media showed VHP and Bajrang Dal members shouting slogans, tearing the film’s poster and stomping on large cutouts of "Pathaan", which also features Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.

Speaking on the issue, Paramhans Acharya of the Tapaswi Chawni Temple in Ayodhya last month said, "I will burn alive 'jihadi' Shah Rukh Khan, the producer and the director of the film. The owners of the YouTube channel where the song is being played (available) will be given the same punishment.”

Recently, Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to help erase hatred against the Hindi film industry and get rid of the 'Boycott Bollywood' trend on social media.

The BoycottBollywood hashtag first started trending following actor Sushant Singh Rajput's demise in June 2020 which ignited discussions on the nepotistic nature of the industry and the gate-keeping attitude of top banners.

The hashtag reared its ugly head two years later ahead of the August 11 release of superstar Aamir Khan's movie "Laal Singh Chaddha" and Akshay Kumar's "Raksha Bandhan".

The other targets have been Anurag Kashyap's directorial "Dobaaraa", Vijay Deverakonda-starrer "Liger", and Ayan Mukerji's big-budget fantasy adventure “Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva". Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film "Pathaan" is the latest in the line of fire.